Justin Timberlake really wants us to forget about his denim-on-denim ensemble with Britney Spears.
On Monday (February 1), the “SexyBack” singer commented on his iconic look from the 2001 American Music Awards red carpet thanks to a probe from fellow singer-songwriter John Legend during a songwriters roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter.
“I confess that there was maybe a period in the ’90s where I could skip over some of the outfits that were public, but the internet will never,” Timberlake admitted.
“Denim on denim on denim on denim, that will never be forgotten!” the “All of Me” singer chimed in.
“Thanks, John,” Timberlake begrudgingly replied. “Uh, no, the internet won’t allow me to forget them.”
His reflection on the infamous double denim moment with his then-girlfriend, pop star Britney Spears, comes almost exactly two decades after the red carpet appearance and a day after JT's 40th birthday.
"You do a lot of things when you're young and in love,” Timberlake admitted about the outfit choice during an appearance on his former *NSYNC bandmate Lance Bass' podcast The Daily Popcast last year.
In 2016, someone bought Spears’ strapless chambray gown in an auction for $7,199.
Steven Gerstein, the costume designer behind Timberlake's jean tuxedo, opened up about how the look came together in an interview with Jezebel last year.
"It was such a no-brainer. Justin and Britney were dating at the time. We were in New Orleans when Britney and Justin were like, 'We're doing matching denim.' And I was like, 'How are you doing that? Who is doing that?' We wound up taking the Costume National suit that Justin wore for the Celebrity album cover. We remade it in denim. Conversations with Levi's were happening at the same time and Britney was working with Kurt and Bart. We had some crossover contacts at Levi's, so it went from being an idea to it being made within days."
"It was kind of like their prom. They had an idea, and we did what they wanted as opposed to the other way around," he continued. "The rest is history."