Timberlake Criticizes American Idol

In an interview with Fashion Rocks, a supplement of Vanity Fair, Justin Timberlake says he has mixed feelings for American Idol, and claims that the show is more of a popularity contest than a talent show.

"I have a strange relationship with that show," the 25-year-old singer tells the magazine. "I despise it, and yet I'm completely fascinated."

"The guy who won — people think he looks so normal, and he's so sweet, and he's so earnest, but he can't carry a tune in a bucket. Do you realize how much pressure it is to put on somebody all of a sudden?"

Timberlake also said: "If he has any skeletons whatsoever; if, God forbid, he's gay, and all these people in Mississippi who voted for him are like, 'Oh, my God, I voted for a queer!' It's just too much pressure."

Ken Sunshine, Timberlake's representative, said the former N'Sync star's comments "were taken completely out of context."

"He has tremendous affection for Taylor Hicks' success," Sunshine told The Associated Press on Thursday. "He would never say anything that personal about somebody he's never met. He only wishes him the best."