Adam Levine Complaints

Fifteen years after Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show with Justin Timberlake, Adam Levine took off his shirt to reveal his own nipples during the Maroon 5’s halftime gig.

While Levine’s strip show didn’t result in a nationwide uproar like the original “Nipplegate,” more than 50 viewers filed complaints to the FCC about the musician’s nipples, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I want him banned, just like they did Janet,” one consumer from Boise, Idaho wrote to the FCC; in fact, many of the complaints were filed by those who questioned why Jackson was rebuked for her accidental “wardrobe malfunction” yet Levine’s intentional disrobing went unpunished.

Another consumer from Lakewood, New York wrote that Maroon 5 “should be met with twice the consequences” that Jackson faced for the “wardrobe malfunction.”

“It is extremely distasteful for Adam Levine of Maroon 5 to display vestigial male nipples on live television where any child can see these evolutionary leftovers,” a consumer from Macedon, New York, adding: “If the FCC punished Janet Jackson for showing her functioning nipples in 2004, they must immediately fine Adam Levine for displaying his vestigial nipples. The fine should also be doubled as Levine displayed double the nipple.”

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

Question of the Week

Should Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson apologize or resign after it was found he breached a section of council's code of conduct for allowing false or misleading information to be communicated?

Dec 09, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Donald has it wrong - again

Dec 08, 2024

A consumer from Phoenix, Arizona said, “I am insulted by the exposure of Adam Levine’s nipples during the Super Bowl half time show. Not because I am offended by the sight of another human’s nipples, but because of the hypocrisy that it did not spark an immediate apology from CBS. I thought we were trying to get past treating men and women differently in this country. CBS should immediately apologize and be fined.”

The FCC also received more than two dozen complaints from parents who were mad that their children had to see the trailer for Jordan Peele’s forthcoming horror film Us, which aired a Super Bowl ad.

The FCC deputy chief for the consumer policy division told THR that the agency isn’t required to keep records of informal complaints for more than three years. So, all records of consumers who were unhappy about Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction have been purged.

At the time, it was widely reported that more than half a million people complained to the FCC. The agency issued a $550,000 fine, but it was eventually thrown out following a legal battle that almost went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was also widely noted that Jackson’s career took a hit and she was forced to apologize for the incident, while Timberlake emerged largely unscathed.