Justin Timberlake Means ‘No Disrespect’ With First ‘Cry Me a River’ Since Spears Book
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Justin Timberlake performed a surprise concert in Las Vegas Wednesday night, appearing onstage for just the second time in the weeks since Britney Spears’ bombshell memoir put him back in the headlines this fall.
Performing for a black-tie crowd that included guests like Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, Keith Urban, and Sylvester Stallone at the opening festivities for a new Fontainebleau hotel, Timberlake did not directly address Spears’ accusation that he used her “as ammunition” in his song and music video for 2003’s “Cry Me a River.”
More from Rolling Stone
Wu-Tang Clan 'Adding Flavor' to Las Vegas With 'Groundbreaking' Residency
3 Killed in Shooting at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Suspect Dead
He did perform that song, though — and first, he offered a pointed “No disrespect.” The singer also ad-libbed a few lines of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during the song, changing the lyrics to, “Ain’t we all just entertainers? Think I’m stupid and contagious?”
In her best-selling memoir, The Woman in Me, Spears accused Timberlake of portraying her as “a harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy” in the “Cry Me a River” music video, adding that “I felt like I had been exploited [and] set up in front of the whole world.”
Timberlake hasn’t officially responded to Spears’ book, and he only did a limited amount of appearances for his starring role in Trolls Band Together, which came out last month. His Fontainebleau Las Vegas performance was the first time he’s appeared publicly since the Trolls premiere in November.
There were no hard feelings on the night, as the crowd (which included wife Jessica Biel) sang and danced along to Timberlake’s set, which also included opener “SexyBack,” a cover of Nat King Cole’s “Smile,” and a mashup of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” (from the first Trolls film) with Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day.”
Timberlake’s surprise performance helped to christen the Fontainebleau’s BleauLive Theater, which will next welcome Post Malone for two dates at the end of December. The 3,800-seat venue is part of a larger complex that has been under construction for the better part of the last decade. After officially opening this week, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas is now the tallest occupiable building in the state of Nevada at 67 stories.
Best of Rolling Stone
