Joining the long list of celebrities who are rumored to have passed away is none other than Mr. Suit & Tie himself, Justin Timberlake .
Allegedly, a Facebook fan page surfaced titled ‘R.I.P. Justin Timberlake’ and it quickly caused controversy, according to International Business Times . The page racked up over a million “likes” on Facebook according to the initial report, although, at the time of writing this article, the fan page has been taken down to a mere six “likes.” The Facebook page provided the following description of JT’s supposed death:
“At about 11 a.m. ET on Sunday (August 17, 2014), our beloved singer Justin Timberlake passed away. Justin Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981 in Memphis. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”
Fans took to social media in droves to pour out their condolences, but those heartfelt sentiments soon turned to anger when fans learned that Justin Timberlake’s death was a hoax. A rep at the Justin Timberlake camp did his best to assure JT fans that the “Mirrors” singer is very much alive and well:
“He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax.”
This is not the first time that JT has been victim to a death hoax. In July 2013, the singer supposedly died in a car accident. Some other celebrities to join the “death hoax” club include Walking Dead ‘s Norman Reedus and everyone’s favorite twerker, Miley Cyrus.
In unrelated news, the star recently was subject to a Twitter backlash when he tweeted birthday wishes to his former musical collaborator and “Material Girl” Madonna. His heartfelt message read:
“A happiest of Bdays to my mother chucking ninja, @Madonna!! Hope you have a great one, M!”
According to Mail Online , the word ninja is frequently used in place of the more derogatory and racist term which is sometimes used to refer to an African American person. Considering Justin Timberlake’s connections and close relationships in the industry, he most certainly didn’t mean any harm, but he has since removed the tweet after a social media backlash ensued.
Apparently all the criticism seemed to really hit him hard as Timberlake was photographed in Paris during a stint in his 20/20 Experience Tour looking morose and hurrying past fans to enter the venue where he was to perform. He would later take to his Instagram account to say simply, “Get ready Paris.”
What do you think about Justin Timberlake’s faux pas? Sound off in the comment section below.
[Photo credit: Digital Spy]
