Janet Jackson sued for breast-baring incident

A Tennessee woman has sued singer Janet Jackson and others involved in her breast-baring Super Bowl half-time show, saying mllions of people are owed monetary damages for exposure to lewd conduct.

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The suit, filed in a federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee, also names pop star Justin Timberlake, who, after a suggestive song, tore a piece of Jackson's clothing, exposing her right breast; CBS Broadcasting Inc., which aired the show; MTV Networks Enterprises, which produced it; and the parent of the two companies, Viacom Inc.

The action seeks a court order to prevent anything like last Sunday's stunt from being repeated on network TV prior to 10pm, when children might be watching. It also asks the court to declare the matter a class action for purposes of damages.

No dollar figure is mentioned in the suit but it estimates that more than 80 million US viewers might be due compensation.

CBS has said that the game had an average viewership of just under 89.6 million people. If additional punitive damages are granted, CBS adds, it should be no higher than the 'gross annual revenues of each defendant for the last three years'.

Media observers have pointed out that there is much more exposure on several TV shows every day and every night but Super Bowl is regarded as a superclean show--except for the injuries many players suffer as they tackle each other to floor them or snatch the ball from them.