Justin Timberlake cancels show for second time amid flu battle: “You guys. I’m heartbroken”
Justin Timberlake has canceled a show in Columbus, Ohio for the second time amidst a flu battle.
Upon the release of ‘Everything I Thought It Was’, his sixth studio album – and first in six years – Timberlake announced the ‘Forget Tomorrow’ world tour. However, the tour has been beset by postponements due to illness and injury.
Last October, the singer postponed six North American shows after being diagnosed with bronchitis and laryngitis, just weeks after he called off another show in Newark just hours before stage time due to “an injury that is preventing me from performing”. In December, he then cancelled a show in Oklahoma City after sustaining a back injury.
One of the six North American shows postponed was a Columbus date rescheduled to Thursday (February 27) – now that has been cancelled as he’s down with the flu.
Hours before he was due to perform at the Nationwide Arena, Timberlake shared a statement on Instagram. “You guys. I’m heartbroken,” he began.
“I have to cancel the show tonight. I went into soundcheck battling the flu and now it’s gotten the best of me. It kills me to disappoint you and my team worked so hard to make this show happen. I want to reassure you, you’ll be getting refunds for your tickets. I love you all.”
The Columbus date was meant to close out the US trek of the tour. His next dates are in South America before a one-off date at California’s BottleRock Napa Valley 2025 and, subsequently, a trek through UK and Europe. See the full list of dates below.
The remaining 2025 tour dates for Justin Timberlake’s ‘Forget Tomorrow’ are:
MARCH
21 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina 2025
22 – Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile 2025
28 – Bogotá, Colombia – Festival Estéreo Picnic 2025
30 – São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brasil 2025
APRIL
05 – Monterrey, Mexico – Tecate Pa’l Norte 2025
MAY
24 – Napa, California – BottleRock Napa Valley 2025
30 – Sevilla, Spain – Icónica Santalucia Sevilla Fest
JUNE
02 – Milano, Italy – I-DAYS 2025
06 – Kaunas, Lithuania – Darius and Girėnas Stadium
09 – Tallinn, Estonia – Tallinn Song Festival Grounds
12 – Trondheim, Norway – E.C. Dahls Arena
14 – Egeskov, Denmark – Heartland Festival
17 – Warszawa, Poland – PGE Narodowy
20 – Landgraaf, Netherlands – Pinkpop Festival
22 – Newport, UK – Isle of Wight Festival
26 – Belfast, Ireland – Belsonic
28 – Dublin, Ireland – Malahide Castle
JULY
04 – Essex, UK – Chelmsford City Live
07 – Lancashire, UK – TK Maxx Presents Lytham Festival
08 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Lexexpo Open Air
16 – Cluj, Romania – Electric Castle 2025
20 – Paris, France – Lollapalooza Paris 2025
Last September, the singer pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, and called for fans to think again if they considered driving under the influence of alcohol. The judge sentenced the singer to a $500 (£380) fine with a $260 (£198) surcharge, and 25 hours of community service at a non-profit of his choice.
Timberlake said: “Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car. There are so many alternatives. You can call a friend [or] take an Uber. This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
The former *NSYNC star released his sixth solo album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’ in March. The album scored a three-star review, with Nick Levine writing for NME: “‘Everything I Thought It Was’ shows he hasn’t lost his vocal chops or ability to work a groove, but it doesn’t do enough to make you block out past misdemeanours. For now, Timberlake’s problematic fave era will have to wait.”
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Daniel Peters
NME
