Did Dr. Dre Just Make A Subtle Dig About Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Halftime Performance?
The Super Bowl halftime show draws in worldwide viewers who want to see the performance regardless of their interest in the actual game. For Super Bowl LVI, Dr. Dre recruited a group of hip hop icons to join him on stage including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. Leading up to the event, Pepsi released a trailer video titled "The Call" that featured the five music legends. "[W]e're bringing fans closer to the magic of what will certainly be a colossal moment in pop culture history," the brand's VP of Marketing, Todd Kaplan, said in a statement after releasing the video, per the New York Post.
Of course, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake left their own pop culture imprint with their infamous Super Bowl halftime performance in 2004 when Timberlake accidentally exposed Jackson's nipple. Apparently, the "SexyBack" singer was only supposed to remove the cup of Jackson's top to reveal her bra. "It was meant to be a little racy, but nobody meant for her breast to show," an insider told the New York Post in 2018. That mishap led to over 200,000 complaints to the FCC.
Leading up to his star-studded performance, Dr. Dre hinted at an extravagant show that he described as "f***ing incredible" during a press conference, per ET. The "Forgot About Dre" artist also mentioned how his show would compare to Jackson's.
Dr. Dre joked about possible wardrobe malfunctions
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige spoke to the press days before their Super Bowl halftime performance, and were asked if fans could expect "any surprises" during their show. "There won't be any wardrobe malfunctions," Snoop Dogg joked which was an obvious reference to Janet Jackson's catastrophic 2004 performance, per the New York Post. The "Gin and Juice" rapper also playfully said that he "may not" keep his shirt on while on stage.
During that back-and-forth with reporters, Dr. Dre decided to push the envelope. "The Chronic" rapper joked that his stage mates would take it one step further than Jackson did in 2004. "I had to talk Snoop and Em out of pulling their penises out," Dr. Dre said, per TMZ. "It's just actually Eminem," he added.
Although Dr. Dre's comment was only a joke, it likely did little to help Eminem relax before the big show. The rap icon admitted that performing at the Super Bowl was intimidating. "I'm gonna tell you, it's f***ing nerve-wracking," Eminem revealed to Sway Calloway while appearing on his SiriusXM show on February 10. The very reason that made the Jackson-Timberlake fiasco so memorable was the same reason Eminem was nervous. "To me, there's nothing more final than live TV," the rapper said. "So if you f*** up, your f*** up is there forever."