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Super Bowl XLVI halftime show
Madonna performing with LMFAO during the halftime show
UPDATED: "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers," the network said in a statement. NBC and the NFL have apologized for M.I.A.'s middle finger moment during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show. The rapper flipped the bird while performing alongside Madonna and Nicki Minaj on the network's telecast, which was watched by millions as one of the biggest events on television. "The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC said in a statement to THR. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers." For its part, the NFL released a statement that seemed to blame the fault delay system for the airing of the gesture. "There was a failure in NBC's delay system. The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans." M.I.A., known for her rebellious, brash persona and music, performed in a cheerleader outfit for a performance of Madonna's latest single, "Give Me All Your Luvin,'" on which she and Minaj -- also onstage in a pom-pom girl uniform -- are featured rappers. Her bratty gesture recalled another malfunction of the wardrobe variety in 2004, when Janet Jackson famously flashed a nipple while performing with Justin Timberlake in the halftime show, sending the FCC and viewers into a frenzy.
Call it a finger malfunction? Madonna was supposed to be the center of attention during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday, but the Queen of Pop was upstaged by her collaborator M.I.A., who flipped off the camera at one point during the performance, prompting swift apologies from the NFL and NBC. "The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans," said Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL, according to the Associated Press. The action eluded the NBC censors by less than a second, as viewers at home clearly saw M.I.A.'s middle finger raised, followed by a brief blurring of part of the stage. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers," NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey told the AP. McCarthy said the NFL, which produced the halftime show, was blindsided by the gesture and that M.I.A. had not indicated during rehearsals that she would be doing anything untoward. There were no reports of fines for either organization as of Monday morning, unlike when CBS was hit with a $550,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission after Janet Jackson's notorious nipple-exposing "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004. The fine was later thrown out.
M.I.A.'s Finger Flash: Madonna wouldn't be Madonna without even a little controversy, but this time, it wasn't even her fault. During the performance of the pop titan's new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin," M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj appeared as sideline cheerleaders to spit their rap contribution to the pop gem. Known for her rebellious attitude, M.I.A. flashed her middle finger for a split second that has already fueled headlines all over the Internet.
“Give Me All Your Luvin’,“ the new song inserted into the set list, had a – surprise! – football theme, a techno take on Toni Basil’s 1980s cheerleader anthem, “Mickey.” The song was glutted with cameos by Minaj and M.I.A., who dutifully moved their lips along with the backing track being piped through the stadium speakers in Indianapolis. M.I.A. did manage to insert herself into the post-halftime chatter, however, by flipping a left-handed, one-finger salute. ("The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC-TV said in a statement to the The Hollywood Reporter web site. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.") Twenty years ago, one might’ve expected such rudeness from Madonna herself, but in a pregame interview she vowed no “wardrobe malfunctions” to match the Super Bowl scandal pinned on Janet Jackson a few years ago.
