After Furor, Janet Jackson Is to Be Cut From Grammy Awards

In the latest reactions to the furor surrounding the breast-baring stunt during the Super Bowl broadcast, Janet Jackson, the performer in the middle of the controversy, will no longer appear as a presenter at the Grammy Awards ceremony on CBS on Sunday.

And NBC announced that it would pull a scene from tonight's episode of its hit drama ''E.R.'' because an 80-year-old woman's breast was briefly exposed.

Though executives at CBS, part of Viacom, continue to decline to comment, several news organizations reported last night that Ms. Jackson, who has taken responsibility for what happened during the Super Bowl halftime show, had been dropped from the Grammy broadcast.

CBS, which also broadcast the Super Bowl, is the subject of a Federal Communications Commission investigation because of the breast-baring incident.

People involved in the production of the Grammy program confirmed that Ms. Jackson would either step down herself or be asked to step down.

As for Justin Timberlake, Ms. Jackson's partner in the Super Bowl performance, he is scheduled to perform at the Grammys and is nominated for multiple awards. But his level of participation is now undecided, according to the people involved in the production.

NBC, which is owned by General Electric, tied the decision to edit the scene in ''E.R.'' to pressure from its affiliated stations.

The network said in a statement: ''We have unfortunately concluded that the atmosphere created by this week's events has made it too difficult for many of our affiliates to air this shot.''

John Wells, the executive producer of ''E.R.,'' said the NBC stations were caught up in ''hysteria over the Super Bowl'' incident.

''The breast is exposed for 1.5 seconds, and is so much in the background that you couldn't see it unless it was pointed out to you,'' he said.

He noted that ''E.R'' has broadcast incidental nudity before -- one repeat episode containing such a scene played only last week with no complaints -- and always in a medical context. In the most recent case the woman is having a heart attack.

''She's 80 years old,'' Mr. Wells said. ''To think there is anything salacious there is absurd.''

But he said he was concerned about the effect that the fallout from the Super Bowl incident was having on network television.

''It's terrifying and disturbing,'' Mr. Wells said. ''It is one more reason why people are abandoning network television for cable where you can see responsible storytelling.''