On October 22, an announcement was made that Justin Timberlake would be headlining the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show in Minneapolis in February 2018. Traditionally, the Super Bowl halftime show has been hailed as a heavily anticipated annual event in entertainment. Just last year in February 2016, Super Bowl 50 racked in an average of 1.4 million viewers per minute. There, arises the issue.

When 1.4 million people of different backgrounds, cultures and stances come together to participate in an event, there always seems to be a clash of interests and views, making the halftime show painfully politicaland full of controversy. Artists themselves are no exception, as they often use the opportunity to express their support for a cause. During Beyonce's performance at Super Bowl 50, she advocated for the Black Lives Matter movement. The NFL was then scrutinized for letting this advocacy slip through the cracks.

Viewers are often to blame for the controversy because of the pre-performance gossip that constantly circulates. Just prior to this past Super Bowl, there was a lot of talk about whether or not Lady Gaga's performance would be political. Even if the show ended up being mild, it would still fall under scrutiny and be over-analyzed by viewers.

This Super Bowl halftime performance has proven no different.

It's been less than a week since the announcement and there is already controversy surrounding the decision for Justin Timberlake to perform. Timberlake has successful roots as a former member of the famous 90s boy-band, NSYNC, and has had a successful solo career beyond the band's hiatus and eventual separation in 2007.

There are no whisperings of a politically charged show this upcoming February. The controversy is different this time. Instead, people are looking back to 2004 and remembering a halftime show from 13 years ago that defined the careers of not one, but two artists.

The Super Bowl 38 halftime show featured Nelly, Kid Rock, Diddy, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake (JT). At the end of the performance, JT and Janet Jackson teamed up for a delivery of Justin's hit, "Rock Your Body" off of Justin's debut solo album "Justified." The performance ended in disaster. For the last line of the song, JT performed a choreographed move in which he ripped open a part of Janet Jackson's costume to the lyric, "have you naked by the end of this song." To the utter shock of hundreds of thousands of viewers, Janet's wardrobe malfunctioned and, for 9/14th's of a second, her nipple was revealed.

What was just a simple wardrobe malfunction spiraled into an explosion of criticism against the NFL. In the days following the show, there was a reported 200,000 complaints filed about the incident. As a way to pass the blame, the NFL targeted MTV and CBS parent company, Viacom, who organized the Super Bowl event. The NFL punished the two by not allowing them to organize anymore halftime shows. Viacom claims that they weren't aware of the stunt ahead of time, as Janet Jackson "engineered" the choreography last minute without alerting MTV. Outraged by the loss of business potential from organizing Super Bowl shows, Viacom declared a witch hunt against Janet Jackson, blacklisting her music videos and songs from Viacom-owned media outlets.

You can probably imagine the toll this took on Janet Jackson's career. Her new album, which came out shortly after the 2004 Super Bowl, "Damita Jo", struggled to receive even a third of the sales her previous albums, "All For You" and " The Velvet Rope" enjoyed. Since then, Janet's name has been a subject of controversy. She is still feeling the repercussions of that Super Bowl performance nearly 14 years later.

Justin Timberlake, on the other hand, claimed just about as little responsibility for the event as possible. America's eyes at the time seemed to fall solely on Janet Jackson. Justin remained silent and supported Janet, sharing the weight of the blame.

Unlike Janet, Justin went on to receive considerable attention and praise for his music shortly after the incident took place. The 46th Grammy Awards occurred just a week after Super Bowl 38, and while Janet Jackson was pressured to not attend, Justin Timberlake went and scooped up awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album.

The incident that day took two to tango. Justin was just as much a part of the problem as Janet. But they were each treated much differently. Not to mention the fact that everyone was freaking out about a nipple. Every human being has two of these...calm down.

Many people criticize Justin Timberlake for not owning up to his part in the event, but he apologized rather modestly in some interviews and speeches afterwards. The criticism is being rekindled now that he's taken up the task of performing at Super Bowl 52's halftime show. People are calling him out, asking "Where is Janet's invitation?"

Viewers have made the halftime show what it is: a controversial mess. We actively participate in the promotion and discussion of the artists performing. It's our responsibility to look at the show more objectively. it's simply a time to sit back and enjoy the performances of multiple talented musicians. Maybe the NFL picked a controversial halftime artist to divert attention from players taking a knee during the national anthem. But who cares? We shouldn't actively perpetuate the drama each year. It is affecting artists' careers for the worse...just look at Janet.

So please, sit back, grab a drink, shut up and enjoy the goddamn show.