Janet Jackson Recalls Ripping Her Pants in Front of Queen Elizabeth II

There’s nothing worse than a wardrobe malfunction at the best of times – it’s even worse when it happens when you’re meeting royalty, like Janet Jackson I learned this the hard way.

The singer revealed that her pants were torn during her meeting with the deceased Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990s in a British Vogue Video interview posted on YouTube on Thursday, September 12.

“It’s a funny story about that outfit,” Jackson, 58, said, reflecting on some of his past fashion choices. “I was singing for the Queen of England and we were singing Rhythm Nation.” Sure enough, as soon as I squatted down, my pants ripped right in the crack of my butt. I couldn’t believe it had happened. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And then I started feeling air down there, so I knew it had really happened.”

Jackson said she had to carefully adjust her dance moves in the moment so as not to “flash” the queen.

She added: “I just looked ahead.”

Jackson was once at the center of what is arguably the most famous wardrobe malfunction of all time: his infamous Super Bowl incident.

In February 2004, Justin Timberlake performed during the halftime show, featuring Jackson as a surprise guest.

In the final moment of the show, Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson’s costume, leaving her right breast almost entirely exposed.

The move caused an uproar at the time, leading Timberlake and Jackson to publicly apologize and call the incident a “wardrobe malfunction.” Immediately after the performance, reports disputed whether the moment was an accident or planned.

Opening up about the scandal in his 2022 Lifetime documentary, Janet JacksonThe singer said she thought the outrage was excessive.

“Honestly, this whole thing has been blown out of proportion,” Jackson said. “And of course, it was an accident that shouldn’t have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and this has to stop. Justin and I are really good friends and we always will be.”

In the documentary, Jackson insisted that she and Timberlake “have moved on and it’s time for everyone else to do the same.”

Although Jackson and Timberlake have both moved on with their lives, the star admitted that the continued backlash has taken a toll on her.

“I didn’t see a lot of it, but obviously you couldn’t escape it because it was everywhere,” she said. “People wished you ill, they would go to my brothers and say things, wished I would go to jail. (…) It can affect you emotionally, so I focused on my work, I stayed close to my friends, I stayed in touch with my family and that was enough to get me through it. When everyone is whispering about you and most things are not favorable, it can take you to another place.”