Justin Timberlake’s thick skin

Justin Timberlake can take it on the chin, said David Hochman in Playboy. Today, the 30-year-old singer and actor gets George Clooney–like attention from women, and has sold millions of records. But he hasn’t always been so popular. His boy band, ’N Sync, was once nearly booed from the stage when it opened for heavy rock acts. “It was literally raining beer cans and glass bottles the whole time from 500,000 people who wanted to see AC/DC and not my sorry ass.”

Growing up in small-town Tennessee, he alienated everyone with his musical tastes. “Not a lot of 10-year-old Caucasian kids were running around Millington, Tenn., singing Stevie Wonder and Al Green songs. I wasn’t cool with the white kids because they thought I wanted to be black. And I wasn’t cool with the black kids because they thought I wanted to be black.’’

Lately, he takes a beating on gossip websites, where he’s often blamed for breaking the hearts of several high-profile girlfriends. “The Internet is a cruel place,’’ he sighs. “I don’t know who sits around behind a computer screen making the s--t up, but you just have to shut it off. My life is not on the Internet.’’

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