Justin Timberlake Pokes Fun at the Mispronunciation That Inspired 'It's Gonna Be May' Meme

Timberlake sang the titular line of *NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" in a way that "haunts" him to this day, he joked on social media

May is almost here, and that's a bit triggering for Justin Timberlake.

In a video shared to social media on Tuesday, the 43-year-old Grammy winner joked about his pronunciation of the titular line in *NSYNC's 2000 hit "It's Gonna Be Me" and how it spawned endless "It's gonna be May" memes.

"What's a word you pronounced incorrectly one time and it still haunts you to this day?" asked influencer @umgabi in a TikTok video, which Timberlake stitched with a hilarious response, as he said in a front-facing clip: "Um... 'Me.'"

Related: Joey Fatone Reveals *NSYNC Share Their Own 'It's Gonna Be May' Memes in Group Chat: 'It's Funny!' (Exclusive)

Decades ago, *NSYNC fans began circulating endless clips of the boy band members' distinct singing of the word "me" in the song, pairing the moment with pictures of the "SexyBack" singer in various scenarios.

His bandmate Joey Fatone recently told PEOPLE the group trade "It's gonna be May" memes back and forth in an *NSYNC text chain. "There was the one meme that was like, Justin looking like he was dressed up in something from the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones and I sent him one of those," he said.

Related: Guess What? It's Gonna Be May: Everything to Know About the Annual Justin Timberlake Meme

"It was really funny. Every once in a while, one of us will find a good one and we'll send it on the group text," added Fatone, 47, who explained the meme "wasn't even a thing" upon the chart-topping song's initial release on *NSYNC's No Strings Attached album.

"It was just, 'It's gonna be me.' When you sing it, it sounds a lot harsher if you're trying to go, 'It's gonna be meeeee.' It doesn't sound very good to the ear," he said. "So when we pronounced it, [producer] Max Martin came up with the idea of saying, 'It's gonna be May.' But we never knew that it was going to take off and become its own thing. And every year you get crazy stuff. But it's hilarious. And we might as well embrace it."

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Related: *NSYNC Addresses 'It's Gonna Be Me' Meme and Pronunciation: 'It Was a Specific Note'

Last year, Timberlake similarly recalled the story behind the lyric's pronunciation in an interview alongside Fatone, JC Chasez, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick on Hot Ones.

"I sang, ‘It’s gonna be me,'" recalled the "Rock Your Body" performer, "and [Martin] was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ He was like, ‘It’s may, MAY.'”

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