Justin Timberlake Faces Criticism for Strange Gig in Romania

A viral clip from Justin Timberlake’s Romania performance shows the singer leaning heavily on crowd participation.

July 24, 2025

Justin Timberlake performs onstage during the 5th Lollapalooza Paris Festival on July 20, 2025 in Paris, France.

Photo by Lyvans Boolaky/WireImage

Pop superstar Justin Timberlake has gotten fans talking online about one of his most recent performances. The former *NSYNC crooner took to the stage at the Electric Castle music festival on Thursday, July 17, for what would be his first-ever performance in Romania. But the performance quickly gained attention from upset fans, who shared videos via social media of Timberlake's low-energy stage presence and lack of singing.

Timberlake was met with heavy rain during the show, and hit the stage about 40 minutes late. In a video shared on TikTok, Timberlake can be seen letting the crowd carry most of the performance, often raising up his microphone and encouraging fans to sing.

"Justin Timberlake Karaoke Tour," said one commenter on the TikTok video, with another adding, "this could have been an email!"

One concertgoer also took to TikTok to share her disappointment about the concert. In her video, she said, “I’ve been waiting for you all day to come up on stage. You were late, first of all. Yeah, and then you sing like five words on each song.”

Timberlake's Electric Castle performance in Romania wasn't an isolated incident. Earlier this month, the former boy band star was seen via TikTok getting frustrated with the crew at the Lytham Festival in London. Other videos of the "Mirrors" singer's recent performances have been making their rounds on the internet, such as a lackluster concert in Paris on Sunday, July 20.

"Go girl, give us nothing!" said one fan, referencing the 2018 Dua Lipa performance that sparked a meme.

"i saw a video where he put the mic on the floor during cant stop the feeling and another one where he would yell out every other word while the crowd sang, i thought it was just that one song but i guess its the entire show," someone commented on Reddit.

Timberlake is wrapping up the last leg of his global tour, which launched last year to promote his latest album, Everything I Thought I Was. The final show is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 30.