The Grammys wanted to honor Janet Jackson in a big way last weekend, but TMZ has learned those talks fizzled after discussions on how to address the way CBS treated Jackson after her infamous Super Bowl Halftime performance.
Sources connected to The Grammys tell us … the Grammys wanted to bestow Janet with a Global Impact Award, but there was a snag. Recording Academy honchos wanted Janet to attend a pre-Grammy event with the Black Music Collective days before the main event to accept the award, but her schedule wouldn’t allow it.
From there, we’re told discussions pivoted to a way Janet could receive the honor during the actual broadcast, but that presented another problem … CBS never made amends with Janet for making her persona non grata after the wardrobe malfunction.
It was Super Bowl XXVIII, broadcast on CBS, when Justin Timberlake ripped Janet’s top, revealing her breast. The network received a ton of flack over the incident, and CBS CEO Les Moonves pulled Janet’s invite to the Grammys that year.
Our sources say Janet’s team and Grammy organizers began talking about ways CBS could either apologize or figure out a way to acknowledge how she was treated by the network, but things just got too complicated and talks ended.
Since Janet couldn’t attend the Black Music Collective event, she didn’t get the Global Impact Award. She also did not attend the Grammys … fact is she hasn’t been there in years.
BACKGRID
We should note — Lil Wayne ended up taking the Global Impact honor home — and got a video shoutout from Drake before accepting the award. Unclear if both he and Janet both would’ve received awards, or if Wayne received his in place of Jackson.
