EXPOSED: Justin Timberlake Accused of Using N-Word 'Frequently' by Ex-Tour Manager in Bombshell $10 Million Lawsuit
The pop star skipped a recent court hearing to perform on his world tour, but is expected to appear virtually for an arraignment August 2.
Oct. 27 2023, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Justin Timberlake wasn't just accused of cultural appropriation by Britney Spears, who claimed in her bombshell memoir that her ex "tried too hard" to fit in with Black artists like Ginuwine. The 42-year-old NSYNC frontman and his former bandmates were sued by a former tour manager, with the latter claiming Timberlake "frequently" used the N-word.
Britney disclosed an embarrassing interaction with Ginuwine.
Ibrahim Duarte, who's Black, filed a $10 million lawsuit against the pop group, NSYNC's entertainment holding companies, Zeeks Inc., Skeez LLC, and 'NSYNC Inc., alleging that Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick were racists. He claimed that he was fired for racial reasons and later gave specific examples in which he targeted the SexyBack singer.
Duarte charged he was fired without warning in 2000 after allegedly being forced to suffer constant barrages of racial remarks, incidents, and humiliation. In the lawsuit, he claimed that Timberlake exhibited racial insensitivity.
The singer "said to Mr. Duarte, 'You n----- ain't s---," the legal documents alleged. The ex-tour manager's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, told The National Enquirer, "Justin Timberlake used the 'N' word to Mr. Duarte frequently."
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Timberlake's rep for comment.
The band was sued in 2003 by their ex-tour manager, who claimed he was subjected to racism.
The suit also claimed, "Mr. Duarte was treated like a second-class citizen and was subjected to racially offensive comments and treatment by the members of the band."
Duarte, who was with the band for four years until he was fired in October 2000, alleged NSYNC put "intense pressure" on him to hire a white assistant with no experience and "stripped" him of "some of his responsibilities," allegedly reassigning the job duties to a white production manager, who was junior to the tour manager.
Duarte claimed the members of NSYNC made him "feel like an outsider in the workplace," allegedly making fun of their Black choreographer and a member of their security team, who was also African-American.
The band's manager, Johnny Wright, denied the allegations.
The band's manager denied the allegations.
"I'm saddened to hear that Ibrahim has chosen to take this path. It's outrageous that race is being used. I am the manager of 'NSYNC and I am African-American. 'NSYNC's director of worldwide security is African-American, the musical director of 'NSYNC is African-American, in fact our entire security team is African-American. 'NSYNC's assistant production manager is Asian-American, and it goes on and on. Never in my 10 years of being with the group have I ever heard or received a complaint from anyone, including Ibrahim, associated with the group about racial or demeaning speech," Wright stated at the time.
While he didn't just make accusations about Timberlake, the story has been making headlines again after Spears exposed an embarrassing moment between Justin and Black R&B artist Ginuwine.
"One day, [Justin] and I were in New York, going to parts of town that I'd never been to before," the Princess of Pop penned in one chapter of her memoir, The Woman in Me. "Walking our way was a guy wearing a huge blinged-out medallion. He was flanked by two giant security guards."
Britney's story about Timberlake's interaction with Ginuwine went viral.
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Spears said Timberlake yelled out, "Oh yeah. Fo' siz. Fo' siz. Ginuwine, what's up homie?"
"After Ginuwine walked away Felicia [who they were with] did an impression … [Justin] wasn't even embarrassed. He just took it and looked at her like, OK, f--- you,'" the Womanizer singer wrote.
Timberlake's alleged interaction with Ginuwine caught the internet on fire, with the "fo'siz" impression from the book's narrator, actress Michelle Williams, going viral.
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That wasn't the only shocking claim Spears made about her ex-boyfriend. The singer also alleged that Timberlake got her pregnant and she got an abortion because he "didn't want to be a father." Spears also expressed regret over the situation.
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