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This Day in Black History: Feb. 1, 2004

Justin Timberlake revealed Janet Jackson's right breast at Super Bowl XXVIII on Feb. 1, 2004.

It was one of the most talked about wardrobe malfunctions ever. We all remember Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s epic Super Bowl XXVIII halftime performance on Feb. 1, 2004, in Houston,Texas — you know the one where JT exposed “Ms. Jackson If You're Nasty’s” right breast?

More than 140 million watched as two of the biggest stars at the time collaborated for one historic night and a last minute decision to reveal part of Jackson’s costume turned bad. It was all good at first. Janet, clad in her leather get-up, and JT, gliding across the stage, had great chemistry. That is, until the end of the performance, when JT was “supposed to pull away the bustier and leave the red-lace bra," but revealed Jackson’s pierced breast instead. 

Jackson and Timberlake’s respective camps played damage control, issuing a series of apologies as MTV and the CBS network's more than 200 affiliates faced fines up to $27,500 apiece. Ultimately, the Federal Communications Committee fined CBS a record $550,000. The case was brought to the Supreme Court and voided in 2011 by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

While the “wardrobe malfunction” received negative backlash, it did inspire the invention of YouTube, according to inventor Jawed Karim. It also made “Janet Jackson” the most searched term in Internet history.

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Follow Dominique Zonyéé on Twitter: @DominiqueZonyee

(Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

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