Justin Timberlake Backtracks Over Taylor Hicks Criticism  8/17/06

Justin Timberlake insists he has "great affection" for Taylor Hicks, after telling Fashion Rocks magazine the American idol winner "can't carry a tune in a bucket".

The former 'N SYNC heart-throb told the American publication of his disdain for the TV talent show, declaring he didn't see a long-term music career for Hicks, who won the Fox show in May (06).

Timberlake said, "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.

"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."

However, the Like I Love You hit maker's publicist Ken Sunshine insists Timberlake wasn't trying to criticize Hicks, insisting, "These comments are taken completely out of context.

"Justin only wishes him well. He has great affection for anybody that puts himself out there the way he did."