Rapper M.I.A.'s Fifteen Seconds Of Fame At Madonna's Expense

Rapper M.I.A. couldn't resist the opportunity during her appearance on Madonna's Super Bowl half-time show to flip the bird and utter an expletive so people would remember her otherwise unmemorable, talentless moment performing with Madonna. Red-faced NFL and NBC officials quickly issued an apology:

"The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans," said Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL, which produced Madonna's halftime show . . .

"The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers."

Madonna had promised during a press conference last week that there would be "no wardrobe malfunctions" like occurred a few years ago when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's nipple during the live performance of the half-time show. The consensus seems to be that this nobody performer managed to upstage Madonna with her obscene gesture, who generally received good reviews for her performance.