To pretty much no one's surprise, M.I.A. may be getting fined for her bird-flipping during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show. Although no fines have been levied at this point, should the FCC choose to fine the 36-year-old rapper for the obscene gesture, she’ll have to pay out of her own pocket.
Networks and affiliates have wised up a little since that wayward halftime nip-slip back in 2004 that almost cost CBS half a million dollars: M.I.A. signed a contract with the NFL that would indemnify the league against fines of that sort, and the NFL signed a similar contract with NBC to protect the network from fines. (It should be noted, though, that Janet Jackson’s boob wasn’t that big of a deal in the end.) NBC and the NFL both issued apologies for the singer’s onstage antics yesterday. [via Billboard]