
In August 2002, Justin Timberlake performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, where he premiered his debut solo single for the first time.
Singing 'Like I Love You', the moment marked the beginning of the singer's successful, enduring solo career after a stint on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club show as a child and years of fame with boy band NSYNC.
He was from that performance, a solo star.
Watch: Justin Timberlake and Zane Lowe on the Janet Jackson SuperBowl incident. Post continues below video.
What followed was years of popularity, dozens of singles, a film career and a number of controversies, after which he always emerged unscathed.
But in 2021, Timberlake's reputation has taken a series of knocks as people re-evaluate the treatment of celebrities, especially in relation to women and minorities.
The shine of Timberlake, now 40, has worn off, leaving an uncomfortable tale of a man who continually succeeded off the back of other's losses.
A reframing of Timberlake's story entered the mainstream after New York Times' documentary, Framing Britney Spears, delved into the treatment of his ex-girlfriend during the 90s and 2000s.
Timberlake came up partway through the documentary, as he always will in Spears' story. The pair - the lead singer of one of the most popular boy bands in the world and world's biggest popstar - were as close to royalty as it got in America at the time they dated. They were the very definition of pop royalty, and the media attention was immense.
It was also very different for both of them.
In Framing Britney Spears, we see Spears being asked about her virginity at a press conference. Her body and her sex life were tabloid fodder and water cooler topics.
Timberlake mostly avoided talking about their relationship until 2002, after their breakup and while he was launching his solo career.
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