Justin Timberlake ‘insisted’ on Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction to one up Britney, claims stylist

Timberlake recently apologised to Jackson and ex-girlfriend Spears

Justin Timberlake set up Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Superbowl to upstage his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, a stylist has claimed.

The incident – which has been dubbed Nipplegate – saw Timberlake rip open part of Jackson’s costume, exposing her breast to the world.

It scandalised the US, with Jackson’s songs and videos pulled from radio stations and television channels as the backlash focused almost entirely on her. It took Timberlake 17 years to apologise to Jackson, which he did on Instagram in February.

In a new interview with Page Six, stylist Wayne Scot Lukas said Timberlake had been determined to one up Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera, who had kissed at the MTV Video Music Awards a few months earlier. “He insisted on doing something bigger than their performance,” said Lukas. “He wanted a reveal.”

Lukas explained that the original concept was for Jackson to be in a pearl G-string inspired by one that Kim Cattrall had worn in an episode of Sex and the City.

“Janet was going to be in a Rocha dress, and [Justin] was going to step on the back of her dress to reveal her butt in this pearl G-string,” he said. But “the outfit changed a couple of days before, and you saw the magic”.

Timberlake famously called the incident a “wardrobe malfunction”, but Lukas said: “I wouldn’t call it a wardrobe ‘malfunction’ in a million years. It was the most functioning wardrobe in history. As a stylist, it did what it was intended to do.”

The Independent has contacted Timberlake’s representatives for comment.

In February, Timberlake issued an apology to Spears and Jackson after facing backlash in the wake of the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary.

“I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”

Timberlake added a specific apology to Spears and Jackson, writing: “I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”

Spears and Timberlake were in a relationship between 1999 and 2002.

The documentary sparked a larger reckoning about the treatment of Spears by the public and the media, as well as conversations about fame and mental health.