Jennifer Lopez And Shakira's Superbowl Show Too Hot To Handle For Some

Not everyone was happy to witness Jennifer Lopez and Shakira pole dancing and shaking their booties at the Super Bowl halftime show. On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission revealed having received more than 1,300 complaints about the show, with many suggesting it should have had an R-rating attached to it due to its “inappropriateness.”

According to the FCC, the complaints came from every state of America except Vermont. 140 of the complaints were from Texas.

The complainants were particularly upset with the sexually charged nature of the Super Bowl halftime show, which featured not only pole dancing and booty shaking but also revealing outfits and sexual gestures. Some of the complaints even went as far as saying that Lopez and Shakira’s performances subtly encouraged sex trafficking.

“This is not appropriate family entertainment as the Super Bowl advertises! It was appalling! And then having young girls join the spectacle,” a complainant from Kentucky said. “No wonder there is sex trafficking when you call this family entertainment. And where’s the Me Too women? Do you not see the hypocrisy?” he added.

Some of the offended viewers also noted that what Shakira and J.Lo showed that night was too close to “softcore porn.” “A disgusting spectacle was on display during the halftime show of the Super Bowl yesterday and I’m sickened by the idea that this was broadcast into so many homes in America and possibly around the world. Selling sex seems to be the job nowadays, despite human trafficking and the Me Too movement. Shame on Fox,” one Super Bowl viewer tweeted.

Despite the complaints, many still hailed Lopez and Shakira’s performances for showcasing Latin culture. According to New York Times’ chief pop music critic Jon Pareles, their performances were a “no-nonsense affirmation of Latin pride and cultural diversity in a political climate where immigrants and American Latinos have been widely demonized.”

Meanwhile, J. Lo and Shakira’s performances were not the first to draw such reactions from Super Bowl viewers. In 2019, the FCC also received complaints about Adam Levine’s Super Bowl halftime show after the singer exposed his chest during his performance. The most controversial halftime show happened in 2004, when Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction generated at least 540,000 complaints.