As the days following the 2023 Grammys continue to roll by, we’re learning more and more about some surprising appearances that almost came to fruition but didn’t. And what’s the most recent example? The missed opportunity to be blessed by Janet Jackson’s presence. I’ll explain.
Per TMZ, there were initial talks to honor Jackson in some way during a pre-show event, with plans to award her live with the Global Impact Award being the top choice. Due to scheduling conflicts, however, she was unable to make that commitment. So they opted to have her make her acceptance speech virtually during the show instead.
However, those plans also fell through when Jackson’s team wanted CBS—the network that airs the Grammys—to either apologize or at the very least, acknowledge how they mistreated the “Control” singer in the aftermath of the 2004 Super Bowl (when Justin Timberlake infamously ripped the top part of her blouse at the end of their set, exposing her breast on national TV.) When neither party could come to a consensus, the plan was scrapped in its entirety.
As TMZ also notes, that same Global Impact Award ended up going to rapper Lil Wayne, though it’s unclear if he was originally set to receive the award in addition to Jackson or if he was the runner-up.
Either way, CBS is trash for not making proper amends to Janet Jackson. The misogynistic way she was treated and regarded needs to be atoned for. You would think after all these years and after so many people have gotten privy to the way things actually went down (looking at you, Janet Jackson documentary), people would come to their senses. But I guess that would be the right thing to do. We all know she doesn’t need some award to validate her global impact in real life, so I doubt she’ll be losing sleep over it any time soon.