00s popstar regrets one of his most iconic lyrics that still ‘haunts him’-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Justin Timberlake wished he hadn’t said this one word in an NSYNC song (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Justin Timberlake is entering the month of May in a reflective mood.

The Cry Me A River hitmaker, 43, has revealed a memorable lyric he famously sang in NSYNC’s 2000 hit It’s Gonna Be Me that still haunts him.

It’s not the lyric itself that keeps Justin up at night, but the way he pronounced it which became a well-known meme in 2012, and is now being revisited once again. 

‘What’s the one word you pronounced incorrectly and it still haunts you to this day?’ a woman asks the camera, in a clip shared by Justin on social media.

To this, the SexyBack singer filmed himself simply responding: ‘Uh… me.’

By this, he is of course referring to his lyric in the noughties band’s hit song, in which he inexplicably pronounces ‘me’ as ‘May’.

He laughed at the decade-old meme which saw him introduce the month of May to the world (Picture: Instagram/Justin Timberlake)

Justin has just released a new album – though it’s not done as well as he’d perhaps hoped(Picture: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

Of course 12 years ago noughties fans jumped on this and made a meme to mark the beginning of May, which would be used forever more.

The iconic meme simply shows picture of Justin behind the words: ‘It’s gonna be May.’ 

We’re glad Justin has a sense of humour about the viral meme, even if his big recent comeback hasn’t exactly had the huge impact he was probably hoping for, with his album sales low. 

Everything I Thought It Was, the singer’s sixth studio album, was met with rave reviews among fans, but critics weren’t so keen with one even describing it as ‘about as sexy as a soiled mattress’. 

It also featured a new NSYNC song, Paradise, as well as controversial hit Selfish, which sparked backlash from Britney Spears fans who were convinced it was taking aim at the Toxic hitmaker, 42, in the aftermath of her explosive memoir. 

In her book – The Woman in Me, released in October last year – Britney looked back over their famous 2000s relationship and claimed he cheated on her with another A-lister.

Britney also described the ‘excruciating’ abortion ordeal she suffered at home during their relationship. 

The star said that she became pregnant in 2000 but agreed to get an abortion as they were ‘too young’.

Justin wasn’t ‘ready’ to be a father and had it been Britney’s decision ‘alone’ she would have kept their baby.

Britney Spears wrote about her and Justin’s famous noughties relationship in her memoir The Woman in Me (Picture: Denise Truscello/WireImage)

‘I went into the bathroom and stayed there for hours, lying on the floor, sobbing and screaming,’ Britney wrote, remembering how she wanted to go to the doctor’s and thought she was going to die.

‘I kept crying and sobbing until it was all over. It took hours, and I don’t remember how it ended, but I do, twenty years later, remember the pain of it, and the fear.’

Britney said Justin began ‘strumming’ his guitar as he ‘thought maybe music would help’ ease her pain during those hours on the bathroom floor.

The NSYNC star released the hit song Cry Me A River after their relationship ended.

The music video sees a woman who looks much like Britney acting out seemingly cheating on him, with lyrics that go: ‘You don’t have to say what you did, I already know, I found out from him.’

Looking back at that time, Britney said she was seen as a ‘harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy,’ upon the music video’s release.

In reality, she claimed: ‘I was comatose in Louisiana, and he was happily running around Hollywood.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More