M.I.A.'s Obsecene Gesture Seen by Millions of Super Bowl Viewers

It wasn't quite as spectacular as the 2004 halftime show's controversy which brought the term wardrobe malfunction, into the Ameican lexicon, but the Super Bowl halftime show did have one cringe-worthy moment this year.

British singer M.I.A. flipped the bird to the cameras as she exclaimed I don't give a shhh, stopping short of actually cursing.

Seconds after the act the screen pixilated in a belated attempt to conceal the gesture from the more than 100 million viewers, but both her image and her words went out over the airwaves.

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

M.I.A., who is of Sri-Lankan descent is best known for her Grammy nominated song Paper Planes, but she is also a director, writer and visual artist.

Though both NBC and the NFL have apologized for the incident, neither M.I.A., nor her representatives have yet commented.