According to stereogum.com, on February 1, 2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performed together as part of an all-star Super Bowl Halftime Show, where the grand finale was Timberlake performing “Rock Your Body” with Jackson. In the final moments of the show, Timberlake reached over and ripped away a part of Jackson’s top, which briefly exposing her nipple to everyone who was watching the show live.

The fallout from the incident is credited with ruining Jackson’s long career, as CBS chief Les Moonves carried out a years-long vendetta against the artist. For his part, Timberlake was back on CBS a week later, by performing at the Grammys. On January 31 Timberlake played a small show at New York’s Irving Plaza.

The show was a 43 birthday celebration for the artist and it was also part of the early promotional run for his album Everything I Thought It Was. While introducing the song “Cry Me A River,” Timberlake told the crowd: “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely fucking nobody.”

@britneyplanetitalia Justin Timberlake seemingly shades Britney Spears while performing tonight in NYC #britneyspears #justintimberlake #perte #fyp #britneyarmy #britneyspearsfan ♬ suono originale – Britney Planet Italia

In the past, Timberlake has taken plenty of opportunities to apologize. At the post-Nipplegate Grammys, Timberlake told the world, “What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable and I apologize if you guys are offended.”

In recent years, Timberlake has offered public apologies to Janet Jackson and his ex Britney Spears. The artist has also apologized to his wife Jessica Biel,  the city of Washington, DC, anyone offended by his comment on Jesse Williams’s BET Awards speech and to the Take Back The Night Foundation.