There’s nothing worse than a wardrobe malfunction at the best of times – it’s even worse when it happens when you’re meeting royalty, as Janet Jackson found out the hard way.
The singer revealed that her pants split while meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990s in a British Vogue video interview uploaded via YouTube on Thursday, September 12.
“Funny story about this outfit,” Jackson, 58, said while looking back at some of her past clothing choices. “I was performing for the Queen of England and we were doing ‘Rhythm Nation.’ Sure enough, as soon as I squatted, my pants split right in my booty crack. I couldn’t believe it happened. I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ And then I started feeling air back there, so I knew it had really happened.”
Jackson said she was forced to carefully adjust her dance moves in the moment so that she wouldn’t “flash” the queen.
She added, “I just faced forward.”
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Jackson has previously been at the center of arguably the most famous wardrobe malfunction of all time – her infamous Super Bowl incident.
In February 2004, Justin Timberlake performed during the halftime show, bringing out Jackson as a surprise guest.
During the final moment of the show, Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson’s costume, leaving her right breast mostly exposed.
The move caused uproar at the time, leading to both Timberlake and Jackson publicly apologizing and calling the incident a “wardrobe malfunction.” In the immediate aftermath of the performance, there were conflicting reports about whether the moment was an accident or planned.
Opening up about the scandal in her 2022 Lifetime documentary, Janet Jackson, the singer said she believed the outrage was over the top.
“Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion,” Jackson said. “And, of course, it was an accident that should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and that’s gotta stop. Justin and I are very good friends and we will always be very good friends.”
In the documentary, Jackson insisted that she and Timberlake “have moved on and it’s time for everyone else to do the same.”
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While Jackson and Timberlake have both moved forward with their lives, the star admitted the persistent backlash took its toll on her.
“A lot of it I didn’t see, but obviously, you couldn’t get away from it because it was everywhere,” she said. “People wishing ill of you, people coming up to my brothers and saying things, wishing I was put away. … It can take its toll on you emotionally, so I just stayed focused on my work, stayed close to friends, stayed in touch with family and that was enough for me to pull through. When you have everyone whispering about you and the majority of it is not favorable, that can pull you to a different place.”
