Artists who perform at the Super Bowl must think of ways to put on the greatest show on Earth. With millions of viewers set to watch this year’s Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake knows that he has to give a performance of a lifetime.
However, Timberlake has caught flack after a report circulated that he would use a hologram of Prince during his performance. According to TMZ, the hologram would pay homage to Prince in his hometown, Minnesota.
But the idea of a Prince hologram performing with Timberlake is ridiculous on many levels. Prince and Timberlake were not friends or associates. Timberlake even dissed Prince on the 2007 song “Give it to Me.”
“We missed you on the charts last week, Damn, that’s right you wasn’t there, Now if se-sexy never left, then why is everybody on my sh—? Don’t hate on me just because you didn’t come up with it,” Timberlake sang.
Timberlake responded to Prince, who once said, “For whoever is claiming they are bringing sexy back, sexy never left!” Timberlake also joked about Prince’s height at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards.
It’s highly unlikely that Prince would have ever volunteered to share the same stage with Timberlake on any occasion. Prince even called the idea of a hologram in his likeness “the most demonic thing imaginable.”
Sheila E., Prince’s bandmate and former lover, responded to the hologram claim by saying that Prince didn’t believe in the idea of holograms.
The blatant disrespect caused a backlash on social media:
Prince told me don’t ever let anyone do a hologram of me. Not cool if this happens! https://t.co/khtCjXr2mY
— SheilaEdrummer (@SheilaEdrummer) February 3, 2018
That Prince hologram is such a violation in itself, but for his image to be associated with the mediocrity that is Justin Timberlake, like some side show for his halftime performance.
I am so disgusted— DarkSkintDostoyevsky (@daniecal) February 3, 2018
What Justin Timberlake is doing to Prince is as if he’s pissing on his grave. Where was all of this when P was alive? Prince didn’t like his music, JT even threw shots at him in song. Prince called holograms demonic. Why wait until he dies to use his image for your own gain?
— GG. ❤️💋 (@ShaylaJadore) February 3, 2018
Prince didn’t even respect Justin Timberlake as an artist. He better not use a hologram of him during his Super Bowl performance. Gonna have Prince haunting him from his grave. pic.twitter.com/jRfzc4BGCy
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 3, 2018
Prince considered posthumous performances through virtual reality tech to be “demonic.” Timberlake won’t be “honoring” him. It is a violation, and as others have noted, an apt metaphor for how black art is regurgitated for predominantly white audiences. https://t.co/382aP2OI3Z
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 3, 2018
Didn’t Justin Timberlake try to diss prince in a song ?? Now he’s performing with him at super bowl via hologram? WTF
— Cory Henry (@Cory_Henry) February 3, 2018
