Jennifer Lopez and Shakira had “too much skin exposed” while doing “porn” in their “S&M outfits” during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show earlier this month.
Those are some of the comments from offended viewers in complaints to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during and after the Feb. 2 performance, according to records obtained by WFAA, an ABC station in Texas.
A total of 1,312 complaints were filed from viewers in 49 states (who evidently did not know how to change the channel or turn their TVs off). There were no complaints from Vermont.
“It was sexually explicit and would have been considered soft porn not many years ago,” a viewer in Wyoming fumed. Someone in Tennessee noted they “do not buy porn for $20 a flick” and therefore didn’t appreciate having “our eyes molested.”
According to a viewer in Illinois, the halftime show was "obscene content not suitable for public viewing." They complained that it "contained indecent, sexual, and risqué content that was unsuitable for all viewers especially young viewers. The performers exposed areas of the lower buttocks, abdomen, and cleavage. This content was clearly obscene, and should not have been broadcast."
A father of two teen girls in Maine opined that the halftime show belonged on “late night cable TV” and begged the broadcast regulator to “put a stop (to) this disgraceful type of behaviour being pushed on our children.” A viewer in Michigan took issue with one of J-Lo's costumes. "To bend over and show that thin piece if fabric between her butt cheeks crossed the line."
In Virginia, a woman wrote: “I applaud Shakira and Jennifer Lopez for being in amazing shape and having great voices, but that show was 100% about sex and NOT even remotely family friendly.” An Arkansas viewer wondered "why is it okay for these entertainers, J-Lo and Shakira to prance around grabbing their genitals on national television?"
An Indiana viewer offered the FCC – which has nothing to do with the content of the Super Bowl halftime show – some advice for booking acts next year. “No pole dancing, no nudity, no crotch grabbing, no indecent costumes,” they suggested. “Just good music. Could be inspirational or uplifting or even patriotic.”
In an interview with Variety after the Super Bowl, Lopez dismissed criticism of the halftime show as “silliness” and said she and Shakira are “really respectful performers who are moms and have kids and are very conscious of what we do.”
She added: “We (put on) a show that I believe was a celebration of women and our Latino culture that I think was really well reserved. And that small faction of people who want to be negative about it, I can’t even let in.”
To put the number of complaints in perspective, the FCC received 540,000 following the 2004 halftime show by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson that included a “wardrobe malfunction.” And, based on Nielsen data, the complaints this year came from 1/1000th of a percent of people who tuned in to the Super Bowl.