Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl `wardrobe malfunction` case dropped

London: Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl case, in which the singer had a wardrobe malfunction, has come to an end after the Supreme Court decided not to review an earlier verdict.

The 46-year-old singer’s breast was exposed during a dance routine in which Justin Timberlake had ripped off her bustier. An appeals court had overturned the 550,000-dollar fine last year and now the Supreme Court has refused to hear a further appeal, a news channel reported. The case has been going on for nearly eight years, and Jackson’s career never fully recovered. She and the former N-Sync band member had insisted that the exposure was a mistake, saying the stunt was supposed to reveal an undergarment but that it had became detached along with the bustier. The FCC had concluded that “the breast-baring finale was intended.” More than 500,000 people had complained about the incident, which was seen by 90 million viewers, and CBS had been quick to apologize. Nonetheless, the FCC had imposed a fine of 27,500 dollar for each of the 20 stations that CBS owned. The 550,000 dollar total had been the biggest fine on a US broadcaster to date. However, the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had dismissed the fine in November last year. The SC ruled that the FCC had “improperly imposed a penalty on CBS for violating a previously unannounced policy.” The Supreme Court rejected the FCC’s appeal on Friday. The court unanimously ruled that the FCC standards were vague and the agency had failed to give fair notice that its policies had been toughened. ANI