Janet Jackson can’t catch a break.
Last week brought a wave of stories after a former brother-in-law accused her of having a “secret” child 18 years ago, which she has steadfastly denied. Now comes a cheap shot from the Associated Press, which today released a story reporting, “Janet Jackson has been exposed — and this time, Justin Timberlake is nowhere to be seen.
“A video clip showing Jackson sunbathing naked has been circulating on the Internet and was still playing on some Web sites Thursday. The 40-second paparazzi video was shot from bushes near the singer.”
So some creep invaded a celebrity’s privacy, and the resulting tawdry video is now making its way around the Internet — which is about all that the AP can confirm. Jackson’s publicist did not return a call, the AP reported, while “Her lawyers were reportedly attempting to have the video taken off the Web” (you think?), and “The exact source of the video and when it was shot was unclear.”
Thin gruel, indeed, for the AP. But it was enough, apparently, for the AP’s editors to run with, and not surprisingly the story has been picked up by hundreds of news sites.
There are, of course, all sorts of tasteless videos kicking around the Internet. But it doesn’t seem to us that we need to hear all about them from the nation’s leading wire service.
Call it a “judgment malfunction.”
–Edward B. Colby
Edward B. Colby was a writer at CJR Daily.