Today, the NFL and NBC are blaming each other for an obscene moment in an otherwise tasteful and entertaining Super Bowl half time show last evening.
In the middle of a tense Super Bowl match up between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, football fans across the nation witnessed what some are calling today a “middle finger malfunction” also known as “showing one's middle finger”, by the British singer M.I.A
With 110 million viewers watching, the singer apparently “flipped the bird and appeared to sing, ‘I don't give a [expletive]’ …though it was hard to hear her clearly,” according to an AP Report published this morning on TV News Check website.
It is unclear today why the singer made the gesture, which was unexpected since she had not done so in show rehearsals, according to the AP report. TV viewers saw their screens blur out for a few seconds immediately after the gesture but it was hard to tell last night if it was a video effect or an attempt to block something out.
American pop culture double standard in media
The controversy seems almost archaic in a country whose pop culture promotes scantily clad women and angry young men in television, movies and music. However, America’s annual Super Bowl show is somehow considered to be above all that and both the NFL and TV executives have been careful to avoid anything “offensive” since the infamous Janet Jackson incident in 2004 when Ms. Jackson’s nipple was briefly exposed in what was deemed back then as a wardrobe malfunction.”
Today both the NFL and NBC rushed in to do some damage control.
"The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans," Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL, which produced Madonna's halftime show, told AP.
However, NBC said, "The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers,” according to the AP report
Super Bowl 46 may be the most watched American TV show in history
Super Bowl 46 is “expected to challenge last year's record of being the most-watched U.S. TV event ever,” according to the AP report. Though New England fans were glued to TV sets in home and other venues across the six state region, the event ended with disappointment when the Patriots lost a very close game to the NY Giants for the second time in four years.
Who is M.I.A.?
For those who don’t know M.I.A. or her claim to fame, she is “best known for her 2007 hit ‘Paper Planes’ and was once a Grammy nominee for record of the year, according to the AP report.
For more information visit the TV Watch website
Read more about Super Bowl 46 here on Examiner.com
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