Janet Jackson's Bust-Out Performance
Feb. 3, 2004 -- — When it comes to professional sports, Janet Jackson isn't the first female entertainer to lose her shirt, and, of course, that has nothing to do with gambling.
At any celebrity awards show, you can expect to see a wayward breast. Just last week, Nicole Kidman nearly gave new meaning to the Golden Globe awards when she showed up in a plunging gold-sequined gown that she had trouble harnessing. Nearly everyone on the red carpet got a glimpse of her cold mountains.
Over-the-top cleavage, of course, is nothing new. Who could forget a few years ago at the same show when Courtney Love's gold taffeta gown kept falling down, even as she handed out the award to Phil Collins for best original song?
Hugh Grant, who sat near Love, told British reporters that he was especially flustered. "I had Courtney Love's left bosom out of her dress on my plate in front of me," he said. "It was extraordinary. I didn't know where to look."
The frock-y horror shows of Minnie Driver, Elizabeth Hurley and Gwyneth Paltrow have been well documented in the media in recent years, as they, too, have let it all hang out, accidentally.
But with the way stars dress today, how do we really distinguish an accident from contemporary style? And are we really going to let celebrity fashion take over sports, as if it were just another awards show?
On Monday, Jackson apologized for the breast-baring incident, describing it as a last-minute stunt that went awry.
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals," Jackson said. "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."
Now, as we're left to consider what fallout will result from Janet's fallout, here's a look at three of the sports world's most inadvertent peep shows: 1. Warrior Princess Caught Without BreastplateIn May 1997, Lucy Lawless, raven-haired star of Xena: Warrior Princess, sang the national anthem at a Detroit Red Wings game in a ultra-tight bustier. When she spread her arms to belt out that big final note, the land of the brave became the home of the free show.
Upshot: Xena continued to be a popular show in syndication with girls, despite nude pictures of Lawless still posted on the Internet. The Kiwi cutie told reporters years later, "Hockey has never been the same for me since."
2. Katarina on Thin Ice: At a 1988 Paris figure skating show, Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt's costume slid down her torso, exposing her chest to the French crowd. A German magazine published a semi-nude picture of the mortified East German champion, noting, "You can't get any more glasnost than that."
Upshot: A decade later, Witt became a Playboy bunny, in a layout that featured the four-time world champion in a nightgown and high heels in some photos — and a whole lot less in others — with the headline, "The gold medal skater goes from 5.9 to perfect 10."
"The pictures are beautiful and pure and natural. They're nude, but they still have a feeling of innocence," said Witt, now a TV sports commentator in Berlin.
3. Anderson Can’t Cover Her Bets: Ever wonder why horse racing fans always bring binoculars to the track? The antics of Pam Anderson and former fiancé Kid Rock at the 2001 Kentucky Derby are legendary.
The buxom blonde caused quite a stir at the Barnstable Brown Gala during race weekend when her treacherous top slip down, exposing her breasts as she kissed then-beau Rock. He didn't seem to mind. "Wanna meet the hottest chick in the world?" Rock said, according to Cosmopolitan magazine. "Well, she just happens to be my girlfriend."
It's not clear that Anderson realized her fashion faux pas. Gossip maven Jeannette Walls reported that the former Baywatch babe started "crawling around on all fours, licked a bald fan's head" and drank alcohol straight out of the bottle. When Anderson popped out of her outfit, she "didn't seem to notice," Walls said.
Upshot: Anderson and Rock broke up last year after toying with idea of marriage. The actress, who suffers from hepatitis C, stunned fans last October when she told radio's Howard Stern her condition meant she had only five to 10 years left to live. Anderson's ex-husband, Tommy Lee, says she was only joking.
Buck Wolf is entertainment producerat ABCNEWS.com. The Wolf Files ispublished Tuesdays. If you want to receive weekly notice whena new column is published, join the e-maillist.