Justin Timberlake was ‘100 per cent’ going to use a Prince hologram during his Super Bowl halftime performance but reportedly backed out due to social media outrage.
Timberlake paid tribute to Prince about halfway through his performance on Sunday night by performing a ‘duet’ with the late singer in Minnesota.
Appearing on stage at a piano, Timberlake sang I Would Die 4 U as a video of Prince also singing the hit was projected onto a huge piece of white material inside the stadium.
Rumours had been circulating ahead of the Super Bowl that Timberlake would cover a Prince song and some suggested his performance would feature a hologram of the late singer.
Timberlake paid tribute to Prince during his Super Bowl half time performance by singing I Would Die 4 U as the late singer was projected onto a piece of white material
It prompted backlash from some Prince fans given he had previously voiced his objections to holograms and friends of the late singer said he never wanted to be turned into one.
‘He was 100 percent ready to use the hologram but nixed it due to backlash from social media and Prince fans. That’s why he had that sheet up like in your mama’s backyard,’ a source told Page Six.
This was refuted by a source close to Timberlake who said: ‘There’s no way Justin would ever disrespect Prince’s legacy. He didn’t change his performance.’
Prince’s longtime friend Sheila E said prior to the performance that Timberlake had reached out to her after she tweeted that Prince didn’t want to be turned into a hologram.
She said she had been assured that there would be no hologram of the late superstar.
Brought back to life: Prince’s image was projected onto a sheet as Timberlake performed a tribute to the late singer
During the tribute, an aerial shot showed the host city Minneapolis turning purple in his honor
Prince’s longtime friend Sheila E said prior to the performance that Timberlake had reached out to her after she tweeted that Prince didn’t want to be turned into a hologram
Sheila E, a longtime friend of Prince, said she had been assured that there would be no hologram of the late superstar (pictured above in 2007)
‘Family, I spoke w/Justin 2nite and he shared heartfelt words of respect for Prince & the Purple fans… There is no hologram,’ she tweeted.
Speaking out before the Super Bowl, she said: ‘Prince had told me… don’t let anybody do a hologram of him for religious reasons, so I just posted that if this happened it’s kind of messed up and not cool.
‘And then Justin’s people reached out to my manager and wanted to talk to me about it and we had a great conversation.
‘I felt that it was okay to respond and let the fans know he said great things about Prince and the fans and how important they are. So it was a good conversation.’
Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson told TMZ on Monday that she enjoyed Timberlake’s halftime performance and said her brother would not have minded the pop star using his voice and image.
She said the family knew Timberlake was planning to sing I Would Die 4 U, but did not know about the projection part.
