M.I.A. Flips the Bird at Halftime, NBC and NFL Apologize [Video]

There weren’t any wardrobe malfunctions last night, but M.I.A. did manage to stir up a little bit of controversy when she gave the middle finger to one of the cameras during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

Madonna was the main act during the halftime show last night, but she was joined on stage by M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj to sing “Give Me All Your Luvin” off of Madge’s new album MDNA.

During the performance, M.I.A. gave the middle finger to one of the cameras.

Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL, said that M.I.A. didn’t do the obscene gesture during rehearsals. McCarthy said:

“The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans.”

NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said that the network took responsibility for not blurring the gesture during the broadcast, but ultimately blamed the NFL who produced the show. McCloskey said:

”The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show. Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.”

Some critics have said that MIA should be fined or should be banned from live TV, while others say that the whole incident is a little overblown. The Guardian writes:

‘You’d be forgiven for not having a coronary over the fact M.I.A. gave Super Bowl viewers the finger during her halftime guest spot with Madonna. For most fans, it was probably more shocking to see M.I.A. performing a rehearsed dance routine than flipping the bird.”

Here’s a video of M.I.A. flipping the bird during the halftime show.

Are you offended? Do you think people are overreacting?

Here’s the video of Madonna’s full halftime show.