Prince fans threw up a fuss on Saturday, outraged by reports that the late musician could make an appearance during Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show this weekend.
TMZ was the first to report on Saturday that while neither Janet Jackson nor an ‘NSYNC reunion were in the works, Timberlake was planning to honor Prince in his hometown of Minneapolis, by projecting a hologram of the late superstar. But Prince fans did not take kindly to the idea.
“I support a prince hologram so long as it just sits in the front row and looks bored and chews gum,” one Twitter user wrote.
Most fans seemed to hone in on the fact that the two musicians appeared to have some sort of rivalry, dating back to a 2006 insult from Prince mocking Timberlake’s hit single “Sexyback.” “Sexy never left,” Prince said at the time. Timberlake shot back at the 2007 Oscars when he mocked the musician’s height while accepting the Best Original Song award on his behalf.
“Did we all miss the part where they reconciled while Prince was alive or?? Just me?” wrote another user.
However, Timberlake has held up Prince as a major influence in the past, sharing a heartfelt tribute following the iconic performer’s death in 2016.
Timberlake faced a similar backlash when it was reported that he was planning to hold a Super Bowl party this year at the Prince residence-turned-museum Paisley Park.
Here are just a few of the many objections on social media.
i support a prince hologram so long as it just sits in the front row and looks bored and chews gum
— pxt (@paulxt) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/Judnikki/status/959817964093452288
https://twitter.com/dovesymbol/status/959814224976506881
I mean, instead of a Prince hologram just replay Prince’s ICONIC halftime show when he performed Purple Rain, IN THE RAIN & ripped off his durag. 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/Tfsz1MkMR1
— Reagan Gomez (@ReaganGomez) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/zackfox/status/959871173323505664
https://twitter.com/ira/status/959854123469324288
I do think it’s possible they could do a tasteful tribute. JT is genuinely a fan. But if they screw it up… Prince said, in a 1998 Guitar World interview, that some of the posthumous virtual performances were “demonic”. pic.twitter.com/eZL52Rdv2G
— anildash.com (@anildash) February 3, 2018
Report: Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl Halftime Show to feature a hologram of Prince and I’m all… https://t.co/nE7BM23rOV pic.twitter.com/sfo8Vul3SZ
— Holly Robinson Peete 💃🏾♍️ (@hollyrpeete) February 3, 2018
……………. … .. . … did we all miss the part where they reconciled while Prince was alive or?? Just me? https://t.co/Hu4Shm6sXT
— — (@simonefiasco) February 3, 2018
Justin Timberlake pulling out a Prince hologram at the end of a terrible press cycle is the most advanced Aristocrats joke I've ever seen
— Jeremy Gordon (@jeremypgordon) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/stopbeingfamous/status/959861830846791681