AOL wants refund for nipple slip

Super Bowl pop-up gone wrong

By Ashlee Vance in Chicago • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 4th February 2004 23:29 GMT

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AOL is seeking a refund for its sponsorship of the Super Bowl halftime show and for the money it paid to show the event online. And why not? The best bit of the program has already been consumed en masse.

AOL wants a refund for all or part of the $7.5 million it's said to have paid as sponsor of the halftime show, according to Hollywood Reporter. The hand-holding Internet service provider once had plans to stream the halftime gig on-demand, but scrapped this idea after the nipple was let out of the bag.

"While AOL was the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, we did not produce it," the company told Hollywood Reporter. "Like the NFL, we were surprised and disappointed with certain elements of the show. In deference to our membership and fans, AOL and AOL.com will not be presenting the halftime show online as originally planned."

Surprised and disappointed? Heck, we all know Janet Jackson's immaculate revelation was the best part of the show. Well, that and Willie Nelson singing about hooch.

The disappointment probably comes from all the copies of Janet's solar flare floating about the Web and popping up, sorry, on TV. Who is going to watch the whole halftime show now? ®

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