I actually thought GQ had already done their big “GQ Men of the Year” thing with the dueling covers of Justin Theroux (HA!), Jeff Bridges and Idris Elba. But I guess this is a separate event – most magazines do something special for their last issue of the year, where they name their “best” whatever of the year. And guess what Justin Timberlake got for 2013? He’s GQ’s “Hashtag of the Year”. It sounds insulting, right? He’s not the best musical act or best actor (hahaha) or anything like that. He’s the Best Hashtag. You can see Justin’s GQ slideshow here – those are actually pretty nice photos. As for the interview… well, I’m only reading the excerpts, but Justin comes across like a whiner. As usual.
In the magazine, Jessica Biel’s husband slams his critics for hating on his new film, Runner Runner, and album, The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2, calling it a “double whammy.” GQ reports that Variety ran an op-ed titled “Why Justin Timberlake Should Stop Acting,” after Runner Runner, which also stars Ben Affleck, made only $8 million at the box office opening weekend.
Timberlake also tells the magazine that Billboard wrote (in his own words), ‘Tell him to leave his second half at home.’ Where did all this vitriol come from? It’s mean. And I’m not cut out for it.”
“The movie didn’t do well at the box office, so I should quit? Hold on a second,” he says. “If I was somebody else, you wouldn’t have said that. I have the number one album this week, and I shouldn’t have released it? Come on, man. You sound like a dickhead . . . 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.”
The former ‘N Sync member also tells the magazine that growing up in Memphis, Tenn. defines who he is today — and how he handles criticism. “It’s a struggling city with a defeatist attitude. I’m from this town, and I grew up with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, so sometimes I find it funny that I’ve been able to acquire the patience it takes to be kind to people in our business,” he says. “Because sometimes I just want to f–king kill everybody.”
Well, he’s right about one thing: he’s not cut out for it. And I covered that Variety editorial/column about how Justin should quit acting. It was on-target. And no, it wasn’t just because Runner, Runner bombed –it’s because Justin can’t carry a film, nor is he an effective supporting actor or character actor. He’s extremely talented as a pop artist – no one is saying otherwise. But he’s an awful actor. But I guess my opinion doesn’t count. Neither does yours. Which is why it doesn’t matter that all of us never see Justin’s movies and that’s why they keep bombing. Because we’re all dickheads and we should let Justin be a special little butterfly. Who can’t act his way out of a paper bag.
Photos courtesy of GQ, WENN.
None of our opinions count? That’s good to know because I’ll TOTALLY stop criticizing him now that I know he doesn’t care about my opinion.
Whining bitch, please.
And he’s not an awful actor — he’d still have to improve his “acting skills” in order become one.
I disagree. I don’t think he’s not an awful actor… He’s horrendous as an actor. Only he can destroy an interesting movie like In Time, a movie that had a nice theme going on. He’s just predictable. And I may not be an actress or have the talent for it, but I think anyone who watches movies can discern who can act and who cannot. Simple as that.
I don’t understand why you disagreed with my comment if we were basically saying the same thing: he’s worse than an awful actor.
When I wrote “And he’s not an awful actor — he’d still have to improve his ‘acting skills’ in order become one”, I meant he’d still have to improve his acting skills (though I honestly think he has none) in order to become an awful actor because he’s worse than that.
He can’t act at all, in my opinion.
Well I think the poster “disagrees” in the sense that being an awful actor is still an understatement, hence the horrendous word instead…
@ Violeta:
But that’s what I meant: I said he was “not an awful actor” because “awful actor” is still complimentary when it comes to his “acting”.
Let me clarify my comment: being or becoming an awful actor would require him to improve his acting skills (which are non-existent, in my opinion).
lol I understood what you both meant since your first post, and both of your posts are valid 🙂
Eve is right… AND she said it first.
I agree. He’s not even an actor, so he can’t really be considered a good or bad actor…he just did some movies because someone thought him being a famous singer would help in the box-office. And we all know our opinion as public doesn’t count. If it would, he would have stopped it long ago.
Okay, how about the fact that nobody goes to see your movies, Sockmonkey?
Who’s giving you acting lessons, your wife?
Ziiiiiiiing!
I love the expression sockmonkey! Lmao! That’s my new favourite insult! It used to be pilchard! 🙂
Bazinga! And sorry, I loathe his music and he’s not even good looking.
This!
He has Madonna-Itis: the persistent, delusional idea that because he’s a big pop star, he should also be a big movie star. Oh – and also be considered a “fine actor.” You know – because he says so, not because he has any discernible acting talent. Which he doesn’t.
His film roles have all sucked, even the one in The Social Network (Garfield and Eisenberg acted rings around him and obviously didn’t like him personally). It was highly amusing when it came out that he was miffed when he didn’t get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for that role. Really, Pippy?
I’ll bet he wishes he could kill Ryan Gosling and step into the void it would make.
He’s just not leading man material. He should stick to comedies or supporting character roles in ensembles.
Agreed. That and music…I love his music. I’m guilty of just liking him no matter what he does, even though he was awful in Runner Runner, he was still nice to look at lol
You get a pass on that because you’re a guy. Same as it’s ok for straight girls to enjoy Channing Tatum, for example. (Nowhere near as bad at JT but you get my meaning)
And even then he’s pretty weak. He just has no presence onscreen, and his acting is colorless to embarrassing.
What a tool.
I don’t understand why he is so disliked?I was way to old for the boy band era but he seem’s like he is a decent person.
A guy who laughs at a video featuring homeless people (made by one of his best friends) shown during his 6 million dollar wedding is not decent.
Well, this interview for one. How dare he choose careers wherein public opinion bankrolls his extravagant life; then insult those very people whose opinions line his pockets just because they didn’t tickle his ears?
So good that the homeless people video thing was mentioned. That whole case really showed that he isn’t a decent man at all.
Before that I even didn’t follow him much but after that I sometimes read what he says – and he always sounds spoiled and whiny. Like in this article he says “Because sometimes I just want to f–king kill everybody.” That just sounds so mean.
Have you ever seen any of his films? He’s pretty terrible in the ones I’ve seen (The Social Network, 1 hour of Runner, Runner (I was so bored that night), ten minutes of that awful Clint Eastwood baseball movie). And his attitude toward his critics is utterly graceless, petulant and childish.
After what he did to Janet? You can’t tell me that only Janet knew that there would be a wardrobe malfunction. Justin, MTV, CBS and perhaps the NFL, all knew what was going to happen at the end of the song. But when the crap hit the fan, they all claimed ignorance and left Janet to hang by herself. A real man would have owned up to his part in it. And in the subsequent weeks, while Janet was being bombarded with negative comments, Justin laughed.
Well our options do matter. since we’re the ones with the money that show the studios we’re not interested in his acting. He had one successful movie and it was an ensemble. He can’t carry a movie on his own.
Justin, stick to the music. That’s your bread and butter.
Did you not read the quote? He wasn’t talking about the general public. He was talking about writers for magazines, people who criticize a profession of which they aren’t members. What he said isn’t any more valid, but he was NOT insulting consumers.
I hate when actors throw a hissy fit about their bad reviews while claiming they don’t care about them anyway. Please. Also, that argument about how critics shouldn’t criticize them because they themselves can’t sing/act/direct is absolutely infuriating and drives me off the wall.
That’s the f***g deal, dude: you put your work out there, you get reviewed and if you suck, reviews are gonna say you suck.
jelynn, are you implying that people who are not actors shouldn’t write about the profession? So sport journalists shouldn’t report a sports match either or what? Crap!
I’d say his movies are pretty much an insult to consumers.
Unfortunately for us, he’s in the new Cohen Brothers film, so he’ll be using that to validate his ‘acting’ career.
And a Clint Eastwood! The only thing he’s got going for him in the movie business is his agent.
Wait – what!? Please tell me he’s not in it much
You can see his entire part in the trailer. He appears in 3-4 scenes, I don’t remember exactly. And he sings in one of them which is probably the reason he was hired in the first place.
Yeah, but he’s not the star…he plays a cheesy tool who sings so I think he’ll be great (for him).
He’s not in it very much (thank God for small favors). Inside Llewyn Davis is carried by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan (who both CAN act), with a big assist from Coen Bros stalwart John Goodman. Very little Pippy to spoil that one, and he can’t very well “validate” his acting ability on what is essentially a cameo.
Urgh this narcissistic douche, always shift blaming a situation, only had one decent album thanks to super producers, an awful wannabe actor among many…
I f@cking can’t. End of.
I actually liked “Out of Time”. I do think that if he really wants to pursue acting, he should do what all other actors do: take more classes, and do the indie circuit and commercials before he takes on more major big budget projects.
I believe you mean In Time. Out of Time stars Denzel Washington.
Does he write his own songs? If not, any other pop singer is just as “talented”.
People who don’t write their own songs are not artists.
Yes, to both comments; his music isn’t all that great, either.
There are singers who can give depth and emotion to someone else’s words. Justin ain’t one of them.
He actually DOES write his own material.
And the material, like most mainstream pop, is bad.
He writes or co-writes his music. He even went and co-wrote for Madonna on Hard Candy. And when Reba McEntyre was doing her duets album, he told her he wanted to write a song for it for them to sing. She was really nervous, since she’s country and he’s not. She was really pleasantly surprised and loved it and put it on the album. I loved it. One of my favorite songs he wrote on the amazing FutureSex/LoveSounds was about his best friend being dumped and cheated on by his fiancee, an actress, which she wasn’t happy about. What Goes Around Comes Around.
He does co-wrote, and the lyrics are awful.
Do you think he was insulted they called him “Jessica Biel’s husband”? He strikes me as the type who would be.
ahahahaah! can we ~please~ live in a world in which someone (preferably a journalist, live, on a carpet) refers to him as Jessica Biel’s husband?? Can someone make that happen??
I recently watched Jessica Biel in “The Tall Man” and I was pleasantly impressed with her acting. I like the idea!
To be fair, I’m pretty sure he was talking about the opinion of the trade magazines not counting, and not the general public. But this site in general loves to insult Timberlake every chance it gets, so the fact that he’s obviously hurt by some of the stuff printed by the media about him should appeal to many posters here. Someone’s buying his stuff – someone’s buying his concert tickets, as his dates are almost all sold out. I love Justin and I can’t wait to see him live again. I buy all his stuff and I will continue to support him despite what’s printed. Those opinions don’t matter to me.
If we hurt him enough maybe he’ll stop acting.
*fingers crossed*
However, the opinion of the “trade magazines” IS also shared by the opinion of the public (most anyways). By the way I’m talking about his acting. Actually, he wasn’t bad in The Social Network…but I think he needs to work on his “speaking voice”…it didn’t mature with age…he still sounds like he did when he was 16 and in his boy band.
No one here is really disputing his singing or performing abilities, just commenting on his terrible onscreen acting. His problem is that he doesn’t want to stick to what he does best, and obviously believes he deserves to be a big movie star despite all evidence to the contrary. He’s angry that no one – not film critics OR the movie-going public – appears to agree with his belief.
Throwing tantrums about it in national magazines probably won’t help his case, either.
Well his hair does look alot better on that cover than it has in about a year. Maybe he’s just getting tired of relaxing it, cuts time out of his whining sessions.
He can’t act for shit. That’s why I have never wated my money on any of his movies ever. The only movie I saw of his was The social network and that too not for him.
He is not open to criticism which proves to me that he can never be an actor EVER with this attitude.
I couldn’t get past his whole “I am from Memphis” when he is usually the first to point out that he isn’t actually from Memphis, but from Millington, which yes is just outside Memphis but still… Memphis and Millington are two completely different worlds.
I get that he says Memphis because people would be like “Millington, what?” but don’t try to act all hardcore like you grew up in Orange Mound.
Surprised nobody is bothered about how he calls Memphis a defeatist city. I have never been there but that seems like a very condescending thing to say about any particular place.
If you’ve never spent any time there, how do you know he’s not telling the truth?
I’m fairly certain that if someone else had called Memphis a “struggling city with a defeatist attitude” and asked JT how he felt about that statement, JT would be all “Oh, I am from Millington.”
Then again, my sister once chased him into the bathroom at a Memphis Tigers basketball game to get his autograph for me, so I can’t hate too much, he does support the Memphis sports. (Of course, I was a BSB girl and didn’t really like JT but it is still a fun story)
I don’t understand how anybody could say such a thing about their hometown.
I can understand. My hometown I hate with every inch of my being and got out and moved across the country three years ago. Washington > Georgia
Though I do miss the boiled peanut, Krystals, and Sonny’s BBQ.
It sounds like he due any face much criticism, or opposition, in his life. It’s probably hard to face negative or differing opinions when you spend your life surrounded by a$$-kissers. Poor him (no, not really).
*doesn’t* face much criticism.
I love JT the musician but his acting should stop so he can focus on music. IMO he is not a good actor. He did okay in his role in The Social Network but that’s it.
He was okay in Black Snake Moan I thought and Alpha Dog (course the awesome Ben Foster stole every scene he was in) but he really, really cannot carry a film. I wanted to like In Time more than I did because I liked the premise and because Cillian Murphy but Justin’s almost mugging at the camera in some scenes were cringe worthy.
Cillian Murphy? In Time you say? Might have to check that out.
He sounds a little delusional. Excuse me Mr. Timberlake, but what the critics and fans have to say about your acting/singing ability DOES matter. I guess he forgot he’s in Hollywood.
If I made something and it wasn’t that great and I was met with such bitterness about it, you bet I would say something just like he did. I should quit because its no good? Good grief. He’s right, its an awful thing to say.
That’s the nature of the business. If he can’t handle criticism, he shouldn’t be in Hollywood. Plain and simple.
yes he should quit acting because he cant act. the ability to act is key to being a successful actor after all. or it’s supposed to be, look at all the cr*ppy one not actors getting work now days
“None of your opinions count…” Until you tell me what I want to hear.
He didn’t say that the public’s opinion didn’t count. He was referring to the publications that publish articles trashing his music and his acting. I’m sure he’s smart enough to know that the opinions of the people who buy his music and pay to see his movies DO count. The quote is pretty straightforward.
But reading comprehension is HARD. Jumping to conclusions is so much easier and more fulfilling!
Oh shut it, whiny baby.
He’s gotten an acting career simply by being famous and having a few good skits on SNL. The people who should be whining are those with actual training and talent, who are losing roles to this guy.
I’ve seen a few movies with him in it – he’s just not good. Either accept that and stick to music, or get serious about it and try to get better.
“The people who should be whining are those with actual training and talent, who are losing roles to this guy.”
Exactly.
Does anyone think he’s beginning to look like the dude who played ‘post-it note Berger’ on SATC ( and also is currently in Boardwalk Empire)?
Both faces scream super-pouty whiner.
Noooooo!!! Ok maybe a little.
But Ron Livingston is a solid actor and while he may look whiny, I’ve never heard about him being an ahole or anything.
News flash for baby Justin: If WE don’t like it, it stinks.
Oh that’s rich – well opinions do count you little shitpickle…at the box office. If there was an Academy Award for ‘Totally Baseless Hubris’ you would win.
Aww, poor baby, does baby want a cookie? Careful Justin or we are going to put you in your crib next to Bieber.
Hmm. Methinks someone would think all said opinions would “count” if they were flattering…God, I can’t stand people who think like this. So DELUSIONAL. Ugh. He’s terrible.
I’ve been listening to Nsync these past few days- no shame- and listening now it sounds like JC has more range and is able to hold a note longer than Justin. But anywho.
I liked Black Snake Moan but that was solely for Ricci and Jackson. I’m indifferent to Justin but I think he can’t act. His statement above just makes me roll my eyes and go ‘LOL okay Justin, okay.’ Someone just needs to carry a picture of his ramen noodle hair and shove it in his face anytime he acts pretentious.
I ALWAYS thought JC should have been the star from that group. He was the only one who actually has talent as a vocalist.
I can for sure see or rather hear why you thought that. It’s too bad their management focused on Justin as the lead as JC could have had a career. I know he tried and I feel that if there would have been more focus on JC as well as Justin then he could have gone on and had real success.
NAH.
8M? Still much better than the 5th Estate
Sure of course it’s always the same story, our opinions are invalide unless it’s for kissing his ass, this guy is the ultimate douchebag , he just can’t be likeable.
“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.”
That’s beyond whiny. That’s straight up being a disrespectful asshole. Not like his publicist and he weren’t all kissy-kissy with those same people before the bubble burst, right? What is it with former child stars and delusions of grandeur?
Yes, exactly. His whinery seems to have no limits. Also his bragging “none of you can do it” sounds so childish. And I’m sure trade magazines were perfectly fine as long they were praising him…
You know what DOES count? MONEY. And rather or not myself and millions of other people are going to give any to any of your projects. So, yeah, a-hole, our opinions count.
exactly.
I do believe that the professional critic’s opinion isn’t really important. But if the public ie your customers ie who gives you MONEY to sustain you lifestyle consistantly is NOT interested in you as an actor because well…you suck at it! Then maybe you should focus in something else. Take up painting you might be better at that. He’s an amazing pop/R&B entertainer but a crap actor. There’s no shame in that. He should be grateful that he was blessed with being excellent at 1 thing instead of being mediocre or adequate at a whole bunch of things. He wouldn’t be having the life he’s having if that were the case.
He’s just a terrible actor. He should stick with music.
I give Justin credit for one thing. His tour just began, and he is doing two full sets of music with an intermission breaking it up. Color me impressed that he would do that for his fans.
The second album is better than the first part. It’s fantastic and is a little darker and more energy. I love the way the two parts complement each other. What a silly comment telling him he shouldn’ t have released it.
He’s only touring and releasing music because LiveNation gave him his wake up call.
I dislike JT but I admit he can do one type of character actor gig: dbag tool a’ la Bad Teacher. He was actually decent in that movie. It’s one of my little guilty pleasure movies that I always switch on if I see it listed. The Social Network was a decent performance as well. Other than that, yeah, not so much.
I actually really, really loved the chemistry he had with Mila Kunis in “Friends With Benefits” and I thought he was great in it. I do agree that he’s not a “great” actor, but he often plays douchey characters and I wonder if part of the hate is that his characters suck. Perhaps transference?
Actually I am team Justin on this. If people were telling me that I should quit my job because I suck at it, I’d be upset too. I have seen a few of his movies and I don’t think he is a bad actor.
Except 99% of the press Justin receives is so overwhelmingly positive; going above and the beyond (comparing him to Sinatra, Jackson, Davis Jr., etc). A few bad reviews is not the end of the world.
He’s not even a good pop artist. His entire schtick is ripping off Michael Jackson.
OMG. Thank you for this. If it weren’t for Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, etc. he would have NO career…
Wasn’t George Clooney just complaining about this same thing to his father and his father told him to get over it. These men are just pathetic. Personally I think that their acting skills are about equal.
Whoa – did you see O Brother Where Art Thou? Syriana? The American? The Descendants? Even freaking Soderbergh’s lightweight Danny Ocean franchise? Clooney CARRIED those films, and carried them very well. He is a very good comic AND dramatic actor and he absolutely holds the screen. Timberlake wishes he had 100th of Clooney’s talent and onscreen charisma – perhaps then people would think he had even a little acting talent.
Except Justin IS an awful actor. I like him on SNL and in Jimmy Fallon’s skits though. If he wants to act then perhaps he should just stick to comedy. He is NOT made for dramatic roles whatsoever.
Personally, I would rather he just stick to music though.
He’s funny in comedies and songs with Lonely Island boys, I don’t like his regular music.
I watched Runner Runner, never heard of it till I was at the theater but it was a good movie