The Minority Report | Ashley Kim

Between close scores and—my personal favorite—Tom Brady getting sacked, Super Bowl 52 was not a boring game, by any means. The Eagles put up a good fight and came out victorious with a much-deserved win, proving that sometimes the best way to be viewed is as an underdog.

Like many Denver viewers, the only team I was rooting for was anyone but the Patriots. I wasn’t too invested in the game and although I always appreciate a great one, I was mostly looking forward to the halftime show.

Considered to be one of the biggest performances an artist will ever give in their career, the Super Bowl halftime show is always expected to be extravagant. This year’s halftime show featured none other than “nipplegate” perpetrator himself, Justin Timberlake.

In 2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performed at the halftime show. At the end of their performance, Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson’s industrial style top, exposing her entire right boob. Thus, nipplegate was born.

N*Sync was my first love, so it was difficult for me to come to terms with this entire situation. I was only eight years old when this happened, but I still remember being utterly shocked.

As I’ve grown, I’ve become angrier with Timberlake, especially since learning that the entire bit was rehearsed many times. The intention was to expose the bra Jackson was wearing underneath her top—definitely not her entire boob.

I was expecting an extravagant halftime show—one that would make me feel better about Timberlake’s hand in exposing Jackson to the world. But, his halftime show was dismal. And for me to think that this performance could redeem him was sad. He even threw in a disappointing tribute to Prince.

All this to say that him being chosen for the show makes a huge statement about our attitude towards men—that even when they expose a woman on national television, they can be forgiven, and the woman has to live with the shame of it. This seems inappropriate, especially in the midst of the Me Too and Time’s Up movements.