Thanks to a little thing called Twitter, we now have the ability to know what millions of people are thinking — in real time. And it’s looking like a lot of people weren’t too happy about Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show, mostly because of a now infamous Prince (non)-hologram.
"That's the most demonic thing imaginable," he said at the time. "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. 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."
So it’s easy to see where the outrage is coming from on this one.
Fans took to Twitter to voice their dislike of the creative choice.
However, Prince’s family has gone on the record to say that they approved of the tribute, which will hopefully ease fan pain today. Prince’s half-brother Omarr Baker, who was vocal about Prince’s wishes prior to the Super Bowl, tweeted a thumbs up to Timberlake.
One thing’s for sure: The tribute was a solid reminder of how talented Prince was, and how influential he continues to be.