OK, so the R. Kelly Child Pornography Trail of the Century has been indefinitely delayed; I guess we're gonna have to settle for this. Over three years after the incident at the Super Bowl XXXVIII Half-time Show in which Justin Timberlake ripped of too much of Janet Jackson's costume baring her naked, weird-looking breast, the case of the $550,000 FCC fine levied against CBS will finally be brought to court in Philadelphia today. CBS appealed the FCC's decision, calling its $27,500 fine for each of the network's owned-and-operated stations "illogical." Then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell argued that the network fully understood the risks.
Indecent material is defined by the FCC as anything that "in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." Damn. One day people can't get enough of Jackson's boobs; the next those same organs are "patently offensive." That's showbiz for ya. I look forward to hearing CBS's defense on this one, which will center mostly on a thematic taunt of "What, ya'll never seen a titty before?"
"Wardrobe malfunction" goes to court [Reuters]