The name of Justin Timberlake is synonymous with “heartbreaker,” at least in most circles. For instance, every single day this man neglects to make serious music, thousands and thousands of innocent people cry a single tear of grief. I’m sure it’s quite the load to carry, but Justin does it, and he’ll continue to do it after his interview with Playboy makes the rounds.
On friends with benefits: I don’t think I’ve ever had that type of relationship. I get hooked on every level when I get close to someone. If you build enough chemistry to want to be intimate like that, someone’s going to catch feelings, and usually it happens quickly.
On Cameron Diaz: I don’t know what else to say except the truth, which is that we’re friends. We don’t talk to each other all the time, but we respect each other, and on some level we’ll always love each other—but in our new capacity as friends . I think the world of her. We did have one very funny scene in Bad Teacher. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t say too much about it. I’ll go out on a limb and say it is the most unique dry humping you’ll ever see in a film.
On Lady Gaga: Okay, let’s talk about Lady Gaga for a minute. She’s a force. Beyond awesome. I mean, she’s legitimately talented. I’d love to see her come out with another record a couple of years from now that’s completely different, maybe something Tori Amos could do. If I were Lady Gaga, I’d do whatever I wanted, which it looks like she’s doing. She’s just plain old good. But I don’t know what the future holds for her. Her sound is so big. She’s got the outfits and she shocks you, but you kind of wonder how an act that big stays around forever. That’s why I’m curious to see her mix it up a little. I think she’ll continue to make interesting music.
On Britney Spears: I don’t have too much to say about her situation. I can’t remember the last conversation I had with her. But this thing that happens online bothers me—these anonymous commenters. People think they can say anything and it doesn’t matter to people. I’d love to see the people who comment about Britney online say those things to her face, because they couldn’t.
On all the rumors of relationships with co-stars: The thing is, I’m not going to sacrifice my friendships with people who are my co-stars I meet in the business. I’m not going to avoid spending time with people because someone who doesn’t know me makes assumptions about what’s going on. That’s bullshit. I don’t know who sits around behind a computer screen making the shit up, but at a certain point you just have to shut it off. I can’t look at the stuff anymore. My life is not on the internet. My life is right here, right now.
On music: You go through these spurts when you miss it. In a perfect world I’d love to be able to involve myself in music and films as they come and go. But I’m always writing music, always thinking about ideas for songs. People keep asking me when a new song or album is coming out, and I don’t know what to say. Music is not my focus right now. It may be someday. It could happen next month or next year, but right now it’s not where it’s at for me.
On the possibility of an ‘N Sync reunion: I don’t think so. It would have to be a really special scenario. I still talk to the guys occasionally. I probably talk to Joey [Fatone] and Chris [Kirkpatrick] more than J.C. [Chasez] and Lance [Bass]. I’d say I text back and forth with Joey once a month.
And this is the part where I declare my undying love for Justin Timberlake right before I go into hibernation to escape the pain that the ‘N Sync quote brought me. Hope you guys are more emotionally stable than me.
If I didn’t already love JT, I love him for wanting Gaga to do something like “Tori Amos could do.” Now I will forever imagine him listening to “Precious Things” and menstruating.