Justin Timberlake cancels his third show on the world tour due to a back injury

Remember over the summer when Justin Timberlake got arrested and charged with a DWI and traffic violations including missing a stop sign and driving in the wrong lane, after a cop pulled him over? (JT refused a breathalyzer test.) One of the gossip gifts from that incident — which could have seriously hurt someone and thankfully didn’t — was the detail about the arresting officer not recognizing Justin. JT: “This is going to ruin the tour.” Cop: “What tour?” JT: “The world tour.” (Doubly funny because the actual name is the Forget Tomorrow World Tour, so you could say the officer indeed forgot the “tomorrow.”) Well, turns out Justin’s fears were unfounded and the DWI didn’t ruin the tour. No, instead that credit goes to a series of health calamities that are preventing Justin from rocking his body. First it was “undisclosed injury,” then bronchitis and laryngitis (at the same time!), and now he’s been hit with a back injury, prompting him to cancel Monday’s show in OK City:

“I’m so sorry Oklahoma City,” he wrote. “I have to cancel the show on 12/2. I hurt my back in Nola and my doctors have instructed me to rest a little bit longer. Thank you for your support — y’all know I hate doing this.”

Timberlake most recently performed in New Orleans on Monday, Nov. 25, which is apparently when the injury took place.

This is the third time in recent weeks that the “Selfish” singer has rearranged his tour schedule due to health reasons.

“I haven’t been feeling great the last few shows and turns out I have bronchitis and laryngitis,” he wrote in an Oct. 22 Instagram post. “I’m so sorry to say I do need to reschedule the next few shows from 10/23 through 11/2 […] Thank you for understanding — I’ll make it up to you ❤️‍????.”

The former *NSYNC member also previously canceled and rescheduled his Oct. 8 show in New Jersey due to an undisclosed injury.

“I’m so sorry to postpone tonight’s show. I have an injury that is preventing me from performing. I’m so disappointed to not see you all — but I’m working to reschedule ASAP. I promise to make it up to you and give you the show ya’ll deserve,” he wrote on Instagram, adding a broken heart emoji. “Thank you guys for understanding. Appreciate your support always.”

The Forget Tomorrow World Tour was first announced in January and marked Timberlake’s return to touring after a five-year hiatus. The two-hour show features a 29-song setlist and highlights the star’s sixth studio album, Everything I Thought I Was. It also includes fan-favorites such as “My Love,” “Cry Me a River,” “Suit & Tie” and “Rock Your Body.”

The Forget Tomorrow World Tour has nine more U.S. stops in 2024 and continues throughout 2025 in the U.S. and internationally until July.

[From People]

Ah, so it’s really more than three shows that he’s canceled now. In a span of two months, Justin has issued three notices for a total of eight shows canceled (so far) on the Forget Tomorrow World Tour, six of them during his double bout of bronchitis with laryngitis. Performing is no joke! (Despite his rather crass attempts at them when he’s on stage.) He has to stay physically and vocally fit, and, regretfully, that simply takes more work with aging. I definitely believe that touring at 43 takes more out of Justin than touring in his *NSYNC days. Plus the ego blow it must be for him to deal with any criticism for canceling yet again. Like, I don’t know, say some callous person on the internet suggesting that it sounds like Justin is running through excuses like a schoolboy, and the next one is bound to be, “Sorry fans, have to cancel, my dog ate my performance.” Some people just have no sense of class or respect, fo’ shiz fo’ shiz.

Wishing Justin well on his recovery from this back injury. After all, the tour is depending on him. (What tour? The world tour.)

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