There sure are a lot of fingers being pointed about M.I.A. flicking off the camera during the Super Bowl halftime show where she was a guest of the main act, Madonna.
Despite an apology from the NFL, the organization is blaming NBC for not being quick enough to censor the gesture, the Associated Press reports.
And despite an apology from NBC, The network is saying that the NFL is responsible for the halftime show content.
Either way, M.I.A. flipping the bird got on air during the most-watched annual show on TV.
A spokesman for the NFL told the AP that M.I.A. had not done anything similar during rehearsals and the league had no reason to believe she would pull something like that during the actual show.
While this certainly isn’t as big a deal as the infamous Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson stunt of 2004, it may be a bigger deal because of it.
After all the controversy over the “wardrobe malfunction” it seems all eyes are on the halftime show, looking for another blunder. CBS was fined $550,000 by the Federal Communications Commission and according to the AP, the incident raised questions about the responsibility of TV networks to police their airwaves.
A source tells TMZ that if NBC is fined, M.I.A. will end up paying the penalty herself.
The gossip site says M.I.A. signed a contract with the NFL for the halftime performance, and in that contract the singer agreed to indemnify the NFL for any money it might be forced to pay if the FCC comes down on the Peacock Network.
A source told TMZ that aside from the fact that the NFL doesn’t want to pay a huge fine, the organization wants to send a message to performers not to mess with it anymore.
Nick: Family made it impossible to go to sister’s funeral
Nick Carter says his family made it impossible for him to attend his own sister’s funeral.
TMZ says the singer, who is currently on tour, told them he wanted to be there when Leslie Carter, 25, was laid to rest. The family held a small ceremony in upstate New York the weekend after she died of what appears to be a prescription drug overdose.
TMZ says several family members were there, including younger brother Aaron Carter, but not Nick, who was on the road performing a show at the time of the funeral. Nick has dedicated the remainder of his tour to Leslie.
“I wanted to be at my sister’s funeral, but my family has always had a complicated dynamic,” Nick told the gossip site. “There are so many emotions for me surrounding the loss of my sister. I am trying to stay healthy, positive and focused.”
The Backstreet Boy didn’t get into specifics about what exactly prevented him from being there, but an insider told TMZ that he feels his family went out of its way to keep him from attending.
Randy Travis arrested
Looks like someone got a bit too excited about the Giants winning the Super Bowl. Country singer Randy Travis was arrested on a charge of public intoxication outside a North Texas church after a police officer spotted an open bottle of wine in his car, according to the Associated Press. Randy apologized in a statement to the AP “for what resulted following an evening of celebrating the Super Bowl.”
Say what?
“She’s still a bad girl. Delightfully so. It’s not for public consumption.”
– Brad Pitt to “CBS This Morning” on his baby-mama, Angelina Jolie
Happy birthday for Feb. 7
Actor David Dorfman (“The Ring”) is 18.
NFL star Matthew Stafford is 24.
Actress Tina Majorino (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Veronica Mars”) is 27.
Actor Ashton Kutcher is 34.
Bassist Tom Blankenship of My Morning Jacket is 34.
Guitarist Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit is 37.
NBA star Steve Nash is 38.
Actor Jason Gedrick (“Windfall,” “Boomtown”) is 45.
Comedian Chris Rock is 47.
Country singer Garth Brooks is 50.
Keyboardist David Bryan of Bon Jovi is 50.
Comedian Robert Smigel (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) is 52.
Actor James Spader is 52.
Saxophonist Brian Travers of UB40 is 53.
Actor Miguel Ferrer is 57.
