Justin Timberlake Demonizes Prince in Super Bowl Halftime Show

Timberlake's Super Bowl halftime performance drew mixed reaction across the Twitterverse, but there's no denying that Prince fans weren't too happy with JT's tribute to the iconic Minneapolis musician, who died in 2016.

Timberlake showcased a number of his own hits during the set but included a performance of Prince's I Would Die 4 U with a giant projection of the artist on a large billowing sheet behind the stage.

After Sheila E, a close Prince friend, tweeted that Timberlake assured her there would be no Prince hologram in his show, many expressed relief on social media. 

Ten years ago, the late Prince did an interview with Guitar World where he discussed the inevitable invention of holograms. Apparently, he was not down for the whole concept of virtual reality and found it disturbing.

"That's the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon," he said. "Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control." (Source)