If you watch a video of the incident, it's pretty clear that Jackson's bejeweled nipple should have remained covered by a piece of red fabric, which she wore on both breasts. Jackson later said that Timberlake inadvertently tore off the extra material. But conspiracy theories abounded, with some critics speculating that it had all been a publicity stunt.
Q: What happened afterward?
A: MTV (which produced the halftime show), NFL and CBS all released statements after the broadcast.
"We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced halftime show. They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the content of the show," NFL executive vice president Joe Browne said. He added that "it's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime."
"We attended all rehearsals throughout the week and there was no indication that any such thing would happen," CBS said in a statement. "The moment did not conform to CBS broadcast standards and we would like to apologize to anyone who was offended."
MTV's statement noted that "the tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance."
MTV later placed the blame squarely on Jackson: Tom Freston, then MTV's chief executive, told Reuters that Jackson had "engineered" the stunt.
The FCC received more than 500,000 complaints and fined CBS Corp. $550,000. The fine was eventually thrown out by a federal appeals court, but as the Daily Beast notes, the case was tied up in court for more than eight years.
Q: What did Jackson and Timberlake say about it?
A: Both singers issued statements in the days following the broadcast.
"I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl," Timberlake said. "It was not intentional and is regrettable."
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals," Jackson said in a written statement. "MTV was completely unaware of it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended - including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."
The following day, Jackson made similar comments in a video - a move she later said was demanded by her management team.
The following weekend, Timberlake addressed the controversy at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, where both he and Jackson had been slated to appear. Timberlake's performance went on as planned, but Jackson - who had been tapped to lead a tribute to Luther Vandross - was allegedly uninvited by CBS.
"I know it's been a rough week on everybody," Timberlake said, prompting laughter from the audience. "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys were offended."
Q: Have they said anything else since?
A: Of course.
In a 2006 interview with MTV, Timberlake admitted that Jackson suffered more in wake of the controversy.
"If you consider it 50-50, then I probably got 10 percent of the blame," Timberlake told MTV's John Norris in a 2006 interview. "I think America is harsher on women. I think America is unfairly harsh on ethnic people."
He also said that he could have "handled [the aftermath] better."
"I'm a part of a community that consider themselves artists," Timberlake said. "And if there's something that I could have done in her defense, that was more, that I could have realized, then I would have."
That same year, Jackson appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," where she called the incident "a very embarrassing moment" and said she was surprised it got so much attention.
"I thought it was absurd," Jackson told Winfrey. "I thought it was very crazy that there was so much emphasis put on this when we were at war, our troops were over there [in Iraq]. So much more important things were going on in the world and the focus was on my breast? That didn't make any sense to me."
Winfrey asked Jackson about Timberlake's statement. "Do you think people were too hard on you?"
"I think they were," Jackson said. "I think they did put all the emphasis on me, as opposed to us."
Jackson added that Timberlake had reached out her, but they hadn't yet spoken. "Friendship is very important to me, and certain things you just don't do to friends," Jackson said. "In my own time, I'll give him a call."
Jackson hinted that she was upset at "certain things" Timberlake had reportedly said in the wake of the controversy.
"So you do feel he left you out there hanging?" Winfrey asked.
"To a certain degree," Jackson said.
She added later,"I didn't break down about it. I realized I was much stronger than I thought I was."
Q: How has history remembered the incident?
A: Many are still angry that Jackson received the brunt of the blame. Last year, Timberlake received significant backlash after tweeting that he was "inspired" by Jesse Williams' impassioned BET Awards speech. "So does this mean you're going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologize to Janet too," writer Ernest Owens tweeted at the singer.
In light of his upcoming Super Bowl appearance, a lot of people on Twitter feel as though Timberlake needs to make a more pointed apology. The news spawned a #JusticeforJanet hashtag, where people pointed out the privilege inherent in Timberlake being invited back.
So far, Timberlake - who celebrated the performance news in a cheeky video with Jimmy Fallon - hasn't directly addressed Jackson's supporters. But "Football Night in America" host Mike Tirico did ask the singer if the NFL should be on alert for another wardrobe malfunction.
"That won't happen this time," Timberlake said.
