Justin Timberlake Remembers Dodging ‘Bottles of Urine’ During Show
Written by SOURCE on February 18, 2020
To say Justin Timberlake has had a successful career would be an understatement. But things weren’t always this rosy, especially when JT was making the transition from his boy band roots to a solo artist. During a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Timberlake recalled one moment in particular, in which audiences weren’t particularly receptive to the next phase of his career.
Shortly after going solo, Mick Jagger called Timberlake to perform at his Toronto SARS charity event in 2003, alongside the Rolling Stones, ACDC, and other legendary rock groups. “I just remember saying to the band before we got on stage, ‘I don’t think this is going to go well,'” Timberlake said. “I had no idea how bad it was going to go.”
After Timberlake and his band took the stage to play for a crowd of nearly 500,000 people in Toronto, some rowdy members of the audience greeted them by hurling bottles of urine at the singer.
“All of a sudden, bottles of urine were thrown on the stage,” Timberlake continued. “It wasn’t always good times for me guys.”
According to Timberlake, the host of the festival tried to get him and his band to cut their set short after just one song. But Timberlake was determined to win the crowd over, and after dodging the bottles for two songs, the festival-goers eventually calmed down and let JT finish his performance.
“After that song, either one of two things happened,” Timberlake said. “Either they ran out of nerve because they knew that I was gonna stay there, or they ran out of urine. So kids, be tenacious.”
