British rapper M.I.A is said to be blaming 'nerves' and 'adrenaline' for her controversial rude gesture during a performance at the Super Bowl. The singer - best known for the hit song Paper Planes - flipped her middle finger and swore into the camera during her rap solo as over 100 million fans around the world watched the performance.
While all eyes were on Madonna for a scandalous moment, the broadcasters were caught by surprise by the 36-year-old and scrambled to obscure the gesture in time.
With one foot up on the podium, the 36-year-old rapped: 'I don't give a s***' and pulled the rude gesture during a live performance of Madonna's new song, Give Me All Your Luvin, alongside the pop queen and fellow rapper Nicki Minaj.
The screen briefly went blurred in what seemed like a late attempt to cut out the camera shot and Madonna, who at this point was lying on her back behind the rapper, appeared blissfully unaware of the controversial move.
The NFL, which produces the show, and the broadcaster, NBC, both apologised immediately but blamed each other for the incident.
Brian McCarthy, the league's vice president of communications, said: 'There was a failure in NBC's delay system.
'The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans.' And NBC's spokesperson countered: 'The NFL hired the talent and produced the half-time show. 'Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.'
M.I.A.'s publicists at Interscope have not commented. But a member of M.I.A.'s camp claimed the rapper was struck with 'a case of adrenaline and nerves.'
'She wasn't thinking,' said the source, who requested anonymity but was with the artist at Lucas Oil Stadium. "It wasn't any kind of statement. 'She was caught in the moment and she's incredibly sorry.'
But it may be a costly mistake - sources tell TMZ that M.I.A may end up paying any fines imposed in the wake of the drama.
She is said to have signed a contract with the NFL for the halftime performance in which she agreed to indemnify the NFL for any money it might be forced to pay if the FCC comes down on the NBC.
The controversy mirrors that caused by Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during the 2004 show, which put CBS in hot water with the Federal Communications Commission.
The singer was performing with Justin Timberlake when he ripped open her costume to expose her breast for nine-sixteenths of a second, a moment for which CBS was fined $550,000 by the FCC.
Timberlake was quick to distance himself from the furore which left Jackson ostracised by the mainstream for some time after. The network challenged the fine and last autumn, a federal appeals court ruled against the FCC despite an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The three-judge panel reviewed three decades of FCC rulings and concluded the agency was changing its policy, without warning, by fining CBS for fleeting nudity.
(Daily Mail)
0 Comments
nuwan says:
Feb 08, 2012 at 10:24 amIt good she made that gesture, so she(MIA) will never be called for any future performances,. She is a terrible rapper,singer,song writer. and not good rapper and a terrorist sympathizer ,she should be fined a lot and lot of money
PM says:
Feb 08, 2012 at 11:51 pmM.I.A is a terrorist sympathizer. Why did Madonna get her to be in her show which represented "world Peace"? It doesn't make any sense! Hope Madonna realizes the damage M.I.A caused!
jterm says:
Feb 09, 2012 at 01:46 am"She wasn't thinking.." that is directly from her camp - apparently she doesnt seem to think too much about anything she does lol.