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During the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, millions watched as Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast on national television. Jackson was later apologetic, but faced HARSH ridicule and anger for “Nipplegate” – Timberlake didn’t.
Even worse? Three men created a billion-dollar business based on exploiting that moment – and it’s one we all utilize today!
After “Nipplegate,” PayPal coworkers Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley wished it were possible to access unedited footage of Jackson’s breast.
Their fetishizing conversation led to their designing and launching YouTube in 2005!
YouTube became incredibly popular, with Jackson’s breast a major search. One year later, Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion!
Like many exploited Black women, Jackson paid the price.
Jackson lost support from MTV, her career suffered, and she was continuously villainized – while Timberlake and Youtube soared to the top.
In 2020 Rolling Stone released “How Nipplegate Created Youtube,” celebrating Youtube’s 15th anniversary. The article shared that YouTube founders were each worth millions.
It’s unclear if “Nipplegate” was planned. What is clear is that Jackson was wrongfully blamed for the entire incident, persevering through years of sexist and racially motivated shaming.
Jackson is owed reparations from those who profited from her exploitation. Like Jackson, we must be resilient when white, patriarchal systems work to shame us while profiting from our abuse!