The New York Times Presents: Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson: Season 1

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The New York Times Presents: Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson

Season Details & Credits

FX | Season Premiere Date: November 19, 2021

Summary: The latest The New York Times Presents focuses on the "wardrobe malfunction" between Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show and the blowback on Jackson.

Genre(s): Documentary, Events & Specials

Season 1 Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Critic Reviews

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IndieWire Kristen Lopez

Nov 17, 2021

“Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson” is another essential episode of The New York Times Presents. Read full review

Jen Chaney

Nov 19, 2021

What’s more illuminating, however, is the way this documentary connects the dots from so-called Nipplegate all the way back to the beginning of Jackson’s career. ... Like everything in The New York Times Presents series, the evidence of the uproar is presented straightforwardly, letting its ridiculousness speak for itself. Read full review

The Daily Beast Kevin Fallon

Nov 17, 2021

Like Framing Britney Spears, it is most successful as a speed-read, an almost bullet-pointed rundown of the controversy at hand. ... Malfunction presents a timeline and an engaging reconsideration of a cultural discourse. But the most pressing voices—Jackson’s and Timberlake’s—are missing. That said, there’s an immense amount of gratification to be had from the rewriting of history to how it should have been. Read full review

Daniel D'Addario

Nov 17, 2021

Throughout, “Malfunction” is absorbing. But it can’t crack that question. As such, it often lends the sense that there’s surprisingly little to be learned from Jackson’s story. ... By story’s end, when Jackson is triumphantly thanking her fans for sticking by her until her latest triumph, viewers could be forgiven for wondering the point of relitigating her lowest moment. Read full review

Shannon Miller

Nov 19, 2021

What is notably missing is an account from Jackson herself. ... While some moments offer enlightening context, Malfunction still leaves the viewer with shards of a story that only the artist can reasonably glue together. It ends up serving as more of a platform for Timberlake’s potential redemption (yes, even with the inclusion of some apt criticism), which feels like an especially egregious outcome that raises questions about who this documentary is for. Read full review

Judy Berman

Nov 19, 2021

While the furor merits an audit, and Malfunction delivers some trenchant insights, its disjointedness, limited access and myopia in exploring the political implications of the incident nicknamed “Nipplegate” keep it from reaching the same heights as its predecessors. Read full review

Melanie McFarland

Nov 22, 2021

What it shows us, what it leaves out and which important opportunities it misses are more concerning, all of which are why this hour disappoints more than it enlightens or activate the viewer. Read full review

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UncleWillard

Nov 23, 2021

Who still has questions about an errant boob? Who needs a documentary to clear this up? What a stupid take on a completely nothing-burger of a topic. They could have just as easily donated the money they wasted on this to charity and we'd all have been better for it.

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