Some people show up to the Super Bowl for the actual point of it: football.
Some show up for the commercials, which have become a weird part of our cultural zeitgeist.
And still others…well we, my friends, show up to see the halftime show.
Let’s get it straight: a lot of the time, the viewing audience isn’t in it for the actual half-time show. They’re in it for the drama that happens during the half-time show, which can get so crazy that they dominate news headlines for days.
Let’s look at some of the wildest ones.
MIA + Madonna
In 2011, MIA rolled up to the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the middle of headliner Madonna’s set and set tongues wagging when she gave the camera the finger while performing.
CBS fights back
The move cost her.
The NFL sued her for 16.6 million dollars for the stunt, but settled for an undisclosed amount in the end.
MIA jokingly tweeted and asked Madonna for the 16 million.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers literally don’t perform
There’s lipsyncing, but have you ever heard of…instrument syncing? That’s what the musicians of The Red Hot Chili Peppers did in 2014.
Fans noticed that the band was playing with unplugged instruments, because — get this — the NFL wanted to air a prerecorded version of their performance. Uh?
The band speaks out
“There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period.” The band wrote.
“Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrumental track was pre-recorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue.”
Left Shark
Left shark entered the meme lexicon immediately. Ah, modern meme history. In 2015, Katy Perry took a backseat at her own Halftime performance when the iconic left shark fell behind and then seemed to improv its assigned choreography.
Rogue shark
The dancer inside the costume, Brian Gaw, said he just freestyled it and did his own thing.
“I’m in a 7-foot blue shark costume. There’s no cool in that. So what’s the other option? Well, I’m gonna play a different character.”
Sure, that’s allowed at the Super Bowl!
Beyoncé merely exists
When Beyoncé crashed Coldplay’s set to debut a Black Panther-style performance of “Formation,” op-ed journalists everywhere went all a-Twitter over realizing that she is, in fact, a black woman who is proud of being black.
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Even though Bruno Mars was also there, all the talk afterward focused on Beyoncé’s performance.
She followed her set up by releasing her visual album, Lemonade, later that year. All hail Queen Bey.
Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson
This will forever be a thing that only Janet Jackson paid the price for.
During their set together, a reveal went wrong when Justin pulled away part of Janet’s costume and accidentally exposed her entire breast, as opposed to just her bra.
The government steps in
Coined “Nipplegate” by the media, the performance marked a massive cultural (and technological) shift. It made its way up to Congress, where the fine for indecency in media was massively increased.
A platform is built
It also led to the creation of a new website called YouTube.
Founder Jawed Karim came up with the idea for the site after becoming frustrated that he couldn’t find video of the performance online.
15 years later, and YouTube now has a strict no-nudity policy.
11 years later
Janet was forced to put out written apologies and videos. Justin got to perform at the Grammys. I think we all know why. The mistake went down as a disturbingly iconic moment in Super Bowl history, and changed the way we consume media forever.
Justin Timberlake and Prince
Justin Timberlake once again took the Super Bowl stage in 2018. This time, he decided to try and pay tribute to the passing of Prince…by having a hologram of him projected at the Super Bowl?
Okay.
Hologram or not?
Needless to say, this didn’t go over well. Timberlake had reportedly disrespected Prince a number of times.
Additionally, Prince himself had stated that he never wanted to do a “digital duet.”
Indiana Jones gets weird
Like, really weird.
This halftime performance was intended to help promote the then brand-new Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Instead, the whole thing took on an oddly offensive, weirdly lubricated vibe that likely haunts people to this day. It’s weird and you should see it immedately.
Fergie’s roses
Fergie and Axl Rose. I could stop there and everyone would be like “yup, weird combo, enough said.”
In 2011, Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas joined guitarist Slash on stage to attempt singing Axl Rose’s part of “Sweet Child ‘O Mine.”
Slash this
If the singing doesn’t get you, her very bizarre movements will.
She drapes herself all over Slash and tries to touch him backwards, bumping against him as he does his thing. I don’t know. 2011 was a weird year.
Prince’s guitar
During his 2007 halftime show, Prince played the guitar in front of a giant, flowing beige sheet, letting his shadow to the dancing. Unfortunately, his guitar choice left a little something to be desired.
Oops
The guitar’s odd shape left viewers questioning if they were seeing things. During some movements with the instrument, the “hooked” end took on a phallic appearance when merged with the body of Prince’s shadow. Oops.
The lost halftime show
Surprisingly, it was Disney who started the tradition of star-studded halftime shows. It all began in 1991 when they decided to put New Kids on the Block front and center to helm the first-ever pop-laden performance at the game.
It’s a small world
Performed in front of a recreation of It’s A Small World from Disneyland, New Kids on the Block put on the first live musical performance…to an audience of almost none.
ABC bumped the airing of their halftime show I n favor of Gulf War coverage.
The Elvis impersonator
Yup, you read that right. And he was a magician! And his name was — get this — Elvis Presto.
Disney really thought that he was a good idea in 1989. Suddenly our modern-day halftime shows don’t seem so bad now, do they?
Gloria Estefan and ice dancers
So you have Gloria Estefan, and you think…you know what Gloria Estefan needs to really bring her Super Bowl performance over the top?
Olympic figure skaters that don’t actually skate anywhere.
And a Christmas theme.
In January.
Sure, why not?
Lady Gaga
Gaga tends to cause controversy simply by being her best self. During her Super Bowl set, she unapologetically sang “Born This Way” with known anti-gay politician Mike Pence sitting in the crowd.
