Justin Timberlake to Appear as ‘SNL’ Musical Guest for First Time in Years
Justin Timberlake will return to “Saturday Night Live” in the wake of backlash following ex-girlfriend Britney Spears’ shocking memoir “The Woman in Me.”
In the memoir, Spears alleged Timberlake encouraged her to have an abortion, among other revelations about their relationship. Spears also recounted a cringe encounter between Timberlake and Ginuwine; the audiobook narration of the exchange went viral thanks to Oscar winner Michelle Williams’ accent impersonating Timberlake. (Smart money is on Timberlake appearing in a sketch about this in some form.)
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The Emmy and Grammy-winning musician will appear in the January 27 episode of “Saturday Night Live” with Dakota Johnson hosting. Johnson will be promoting her upcoming superhero film “Madame Web.”
In 2023, Timberlake reunited with *NSYNC band members for animated film “Trolls Band Together.” Timberlake also recently appeared in Benicio Del Toro’s “Reptile.”
The “Social Network” star will take the “SNL” stage for his fifth solo musical guest appearance. The actor/musician is former “SNL” star Jimmy Fallon’s longtime pal and a frequent sketch guest star on the comedy series. Timberlake’s previous appearances on the show resulted in some of the most memorable “SNL” moments of the last 15 years. He most recently appeared on the “SNL” 40th Anniversary Special in 2015.
More recently, Timberlake issued a public apology to Spears in 2021 after the release of New York Times’ documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” which focused on Spears’ conservatorship.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” Timberlake wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via The New York Times). “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.”
IndieWire confirmed earlier today, January 19, that the legacy of “Saturday Night Live” will be captured in biopic “SNL 1975,” co-written and directed by Jason Reitman. “The Fabelmans” alum Gabriel LaBelle, who previously portrayed Steven Spielberg in the semi-autobiographical Oscar-winning film, is set to star as “SNL” creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels. Cooper Hoffman and Rachel Sennott will co-star as Dick Ebersol and Rosie Shuster, respectively.
“Saturday Night Live” returns January 20 with host Jacob Elordi and musical guest Renee Rapp.
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