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Jackson, Timberlake Still Slated for Grammys
2004-02-04
LOS ANGELES- Singer Janet Jackson and pop icon Justin Timberlake will appear on Sunday's Grammy Awards as planned despite the uproar over their bumping and grinding Super Bowl duet that left Jackson's breast exposed, the host of the Grammys said on Tuesday.In a show of caution, however, CBS said it would air the Grammys with a longer tape-delay so that network censors could edit any crude language or behavior from the telecast. The network said the length of the delay, which will let it delete audio and video, has yet to be determined. "Janet is still scheduled to be a presenter and Justin is still scheduled to be a performer," said Ron Roecker, a spokesman for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which will present the 46th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The awards will be broadcast on CBS, which faces an inquiry by regulators over whether its broadcast of Sunday's controversial Super Bowl half-time show and the sexualized rendition of Timberlake's tune "Rock Your Body" violated indecency standards. The latest controversy comes amid calls for the government to take a tougher stance on indecency on television. U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell vowed a "thorough and swift" investigation of the incident, calling it a "classless, crass and deplorable stunt." Both performers have apologized, and Jackson said the performance went further than expected. Timberlake blamed the exposure on a "wardrobe malfunction." Tom Freston, chief executive for MTV, which produced the half-time show and has been known for airing shockers before -- like the much-discussed kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears on the MTV Video Music Awards -- said on Tuesday that Jackson had "engineered" the now infamous moment when Timberlake tore off half of her black leather bustier. MTV and CBS are both owned by Viacom . Roecker said the Recording Academy has everything in place to present a live show that allows artists to be themselves while keeping the broadcast family friendly. "We want to enable the artists to be as expressive as they want. We've done live event television for decades. We have things in place. It's rock and roll and hip hop," he said. "We're as prepared as possible to handle what comes our way. We're doing nothing we haven't done in the past," he said. CBS said it was working with the Recording Academy on the new procedures. In the past, the network has used a five-second delay that allowed only for audio cuts. Others in the recording industry are expecting that performers at the Grammys will either spoof Jackson and Timberlake or try to top them. "I'm sure there will be some jokes. Whoever opens the show will probably make some reference to the incident," said one music industry executive who asked not to be named. Before the Super Bowl incident, the main controversy on most Recording Academy officials' minds was the continued problem of illegal downloading, which the industry blames for the erosion of CD sales for the past three years. The Recording Academy plans to debut a public service announcement during the Grammys aimed at educating young consumers about the pitfalls of obtaining music from unauthorized sites like Morpheus, according to Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy. "The cast of the spot is made up of young people who are into music, and in 30 seconds you can see the potential consequences (for) when there is a lack of music in the world," Portnow told Reuters in an interview. (Reuters)
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