Clerk cashes in on booby
2004-02-09 08:36
Washington - An American bank clerk has launched the first legal action - seeking millions of dollars - over Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt on prime-time television.
The class action by Terri Carlin, a 47-year-old bank clerk in Knoxville, Tennessee, could be just the tip of a legal iceberg after singer Justin Timberlake wrenched off Jackson's leather bodice to reveal her right breast.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could fine the broadcasters and makers of last Sunday's Super Bowl show while sponsors of the event are reportedly considering demanding millions of dollars back from the National Football League (NFL) organisers.
Carlin said in her suit she was acting on behalf of "all American citizens who watched the outrageous conduct" of Jackson dancing to the lyrics "I'll have you naked by the end of this song" ahead of the display of flesh.
The action, filed on Wednesday, seeks "maximum" compensatory and punitive damages from Jackson and Timberlake, as well as Viacom International, the owner of CBS, which broadcast the event, and the pop channel MTV, which produced the halftime show watched by an estimated 100 million people.
The action alleges that the stars and the show producers included "sexually explicit acts solely designed to garner publicity and, ultimately, to increase profits for themselves."
Carlin, and her lawyer Wane A Ritchie, did not give a figure but in saying the damages should not exceed "the gross annual revenues of each defendant for the last three years" could be aiming for hundreds of millions of dollars, experts said.
Jackson has apologised, but she remains at the centre of a nationwide controversy, with the FCC investigating whether indecency regulations were breached. CBS could face a hefty fine from the main federal media watchdog.
Reports have said the AOL Internet communications company, which sponsored the show, would seek a refund of at least $7.5m from the NFL Super Bowl organisers because of Jackson's exposed breast. AOL and the NFL have refused to comment.
CBS and MTV have made public apologies for the stunt while Timberlake has said he was "shocked" and "embarrassed" by the event.
Outside the official outrage - shared by many family groups and conservative activists - the so-called "nipplegate" has become a national phenomenon.
Internet portals say Jackson has become the most typed name in web searches.
Jackson's official fan club had to close its internet site, saying it cannot cope with the surge in traffic.
The Yahoo! portal said searches for Jackson between Sunday and Wednesday accounted for 20% of all searches carried out on its site. The second biggest topic was "Super Bowl" at 2.7%.