14 DAY TRIAL // Justin Timberlake was considered, until a short while ago, one of the few instances of successful crossovers. Then, he decided to return to music with a new album, his first in 6 years, but to continue making movies as well, and critics and (some) fans turned on him.
He’s having the last laugh, though, having just been named GQ’s Man of the Year but, as you can imagine, he’s not letting critics get away with what they’ve been saying about him, and particularly about his most recent film “Runner Runner” and “The 20/20 Experience” album.
“So I find it ironic that I’m doing an interview with you about Man of the Year when I feel – literally – like a bunch of people just took a [expletive] on my face,” Justin muses right at the start of the interview.
He’s referring to an article in Variety magazine, one of the biggest trade publications right now, which argued that the disastrous box office performance of “Runner Runner” should be the clue he still needed to just retire from acting and stick to music.
However, Justin is also taking aim at those critics who gave his album a negative review, shoving his record sales in their face and, in the process, pointing out that their critiques really “don’t count.” Billboard magazine was one of the many to trash “The 20/20 Experience.”
“This face. This recognizable face that you work so hard to get – not because you want the recognition but because you know you’re made to do it. The movie didn’t do well at the box office, so I should quit? Hold on a second. If I was somebody else, you wouldn’t have said that,” Justin says.
“I have the number one album this week, and I shouldn’t have released it? Come on, man. You sound like a [expletive]… It just shocked me because, like, you’re trade magazines. None of your opinions count. And by the way, none of you can do it,” he continues.
Most of the times, Justin explains, he can be graceful despite all the negativity coming his way but, every now and then, no matter how hard he tries, he feels like he wants to “kill everybody.” Hopefully, he’ll never act on that impulse.