After investigating power in pop music through two FX and Hulu documentaries on Britney Spears’s conservatorship and the battle to end it, the New York Times is pivoting its focus to elsewhere in music history. The latest “New York Times Presents†documentary is set to focus on Janet Jackson and her 2004 Super Bowl performance, in which fellow performer Justin Timberlake exposed her breast on live TV, causing her career to suffer as a result. Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson is set to premiere on November 19, per a press release, exploring the incident with original reporting and rare footage. The documentary will include interviews with everyone from people behind the scenes of the performance to members of Jackson’s family. The documentary’s official synopsis says it “examines the racial and cultural currents that collided on the Super Bowl stage, and explores how the incident impacted one of the most successful pop musicians in history.â€
There is, of course, a through-line between the Times’ Spears and Jackson documentaries: the role of Timberlake, who also dated Spears. Earlier this year, spurred by the first documentary, Framing Britney Spears, Timberlake made a public apology to both stars. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,†he wrote. “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and know I failed.â€