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August 29, 2008 1:44:51 PM CDT

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'Wardrobe Malfunction' Busts Into Court

Posted Sep 12, 07 6:06 AM CDT in Business,  Arts & Living,  Gossip,  Crime & Courts,  US 

(Newser) – Almost 4 years after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show, a federal appeals court is being asked to decide whether the incident was indecent or a fluke. The FCC fined CBS $550,000; the network argues the penalty is out of line. It's also having a "deeply censorious effect" on American broadcasting, said a CBS attorney.

The network says the temporary exposure of Jackson's right breast was "unscripted, unauthorized and unintended" and contends the fine amounts to an attack on free speech, because it allows no "breathing space" for the speaker. The FCC counters that CBS was "willful" in its broadcast because it was a "highly sexualized performance" to begin with.

Source Reuters

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Justin Timberlake poses backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Palms Hotel and Casino on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)   (Associated Press)
Singer Janet Jackson, left, covers her breast after her outfit came undone during a number with Justin Timberlake during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston in this Feb. 1, 2004 file photo....   (Associated Press)
Singer Janet Jackson watches the Venus Williams and Kira Nagy match during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Aug. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)   (Associated Press)
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FCC  • CBS  • Justin Timberlake  • indecency  • Janet Jackson  • wardrobe malfunction


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