CBS appeals 'Nipplegate' fine

There are certain moments in Houston's history that make us all proud, but perhaps none more so than Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime. For anyone who doesn't remember — or, you know, tried to forget — here's a synopsis from Wikipedia:

Singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake were performing a duet of Timberlake's song "Rock Your Body", which featured many suggestive dance moves by both Timberlake and Jackson. As the song reached the final line, "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song", Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson's costume, revealing her right breast (adorned with a large, sun-shaped nipple shield, a piece of jewelry worn to accentuate the appearance of a nipple piercing). CBS immediately cut to an aerial view of the stadium, but it had already been broadcast. Many people considered this indecent exposure and a record-breaking two hundred thousand Americans contacted the network to complain, saying it was inappropriate in the context of a football game.

The incident sparked a flurry of morals across Houston and the country: calls for Jackson and Timberlake's arrest, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of everyone offended (later dropped) and a series of fines by the FCC. It's a $550,000 FCC fine levied against CBS that's brought the whole thing up again: The network is asking that the fine be dropped.

It's not that a half-million dollars is a lot of money to CBS, but the network claims the fine is "unconstitutional, contrary to the Communications Act and FCC rules and generally arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law." OK, that's all fine, but then the network went on to call the incident "inappropriate and unexpected." Uh, haven't people already figured out that wasn't the case?

Expect to hear more about this, unfortunately: The FCC says it'll fight to uphold the fine and CBS says it'll fight to keep from paying it.