February 03, 2004 |
THAT'S THE WAY THE LAW GOES
Janet Jackson admits she acted like a boob during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show. In a statement released Monday night, the Nasty songstress admitted her breast-baring duet with Justin Timberlake was an escapade gone awry. "The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it," she said. "It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended — including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL." Jackson's camp claims a red lace bra was supposed to remain when Timberlake tore off the black leather bustier. FCC chief Michael Powell, meanwhile, is investigating whether CBS violated any decency laws. (Fines could reach into the millions.) And CBS, which is launching its own probe into breast-gate, is threatening to ban Janet and Justin from Sunday's Grammy Awards if it shows the pair intentionally set the booby trap, the New York Post reports. If the network is looking for experts to weigh in on the matter, they need only turn to a TiVo subscriber. The company says Janet's flashdance was the most "TiVoed" moment in its history. The runner-up: Mary McCormick getting crushed to death by that big "C" on NBC's late, great Santa Barbara. |
FREE PORN
CBS estimates that more than 89 million people saw Janet Jackson flush her career down the toilet Sunday night, making it the most-watched Super Bowl since 1998. But only 33.3 million stuck around for the premiere of Survivor: All Stars. That's off 27 percent from the 45.4 million who watched the post-Bowl debut of Survivor: Australian Outback in 2001. |
SPLIT DECISION
David Gest claims the National Enquirer ended his marriage to Liza Minnelli. In a Dateline interview airing Friday, Gest says his estranged wife pulled the plug on the union after the tabloid published an article that portrayed her as a raging alcoholic and him as a devoted husband. Gest says his ex was convinced he planted the item. |
BOUND FOR EBAY?
Investigators who searched Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch made off with computers, legal documents and videotapes. The heavily edited list of confiscated items was released Monday and also included a digital camera, a note on Jacko's bedroom nightstand, a calendar found in the closet and a piece of the big "C" that crushed Mary McCormick to death on NBC's late, great Santa Barbara. |
AILING
Luther Vandross is too ill to attend Sunday's Grammy Awards, where he's up for five awards including song of the year for "Dance With My Father." Vandross, 52, suffered a severe stroke last April and remains in a wheelchair. |
THE BATTLE HAS BEGUN
Sci Fi Channel is moving forward with plans to turn its recent Battlestar Galactica miniseries into a full-fledged weekly series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network plans to shoot six new episodes to air in late 2004. |
ON THE MEND
Barry Manilow was released from a Palm Springs, Calif., hospital Monday following a brief stay for stress-related chest pains. "After a series of tests and procedures, his heart rate returned to normal and doctors allowed the superstar to return home," says his spokesman. |
PILOT SEASON
NBC has picked up Foster Hall, a comedy pilot produced by Conan O'Brien that revolves around a brother and a sister who reunite after years of being bumped from foster home to foster home. The WB, meanwhile, has ordered Global Frequency, a drama pilot based on the comic book about a rogue intelligence agency. |
LIFE POST-FRASIER
Departing Frasier star Kelsey Grammer has signed on to headline a musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol for NBC. Slated to air in November, the telepic will be based on the Madison Square Garden stage production of the Dickens classic. |
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