Justin Timberlake jokes sorry for early-2000s beatboxing habit

Justin Timberlake has said sorry for his early-2000s beatboxing — and warned he might do it again.

The singer replied in the comments of an Instagram video by creator Hannah Young that poked fun at the habit. The exchange was reported by Billboard on 6 October 2026.

Young joked in the video that Timberlake would break into beatboxing in the middle of a song during his *NSYNC years and early solo career. Beatboxing, making drum and rhythm sounds with the mouth, was a regular flourish in his performances at the time.

Timberlake took the joke in good spirit.

“I often look back on that time and don’t know how to apologize enough for whatever those ambitions were,” he wrote.

He followed it with a punchline that beatboxers will recognise.

“Too many boots. Too many cats. I hope you can forgive me,” he wrote. The phrase nods to the short syllables singers use to mimic a kick drum and hi-hat.

He then added a warning.

“Also, I can’t promise I won’t do it again. God help us all,” he wrote.

What makes this stand out is the delivery. Rather than ignoring the clip, Timberlake jumped into the comments and roasted his younger self alongside the creator.

For fans, this means the joke landed with the person it was about. No tour announcement followed. No new music was teased. It was a brief, light exchange.

The habit itself is well documented. He showcased beatboxing on *NSYNC’s 2001 track “Pop”. Years later, he said on Hot Ones, the interview show built around hot wings, that producer Timbaland beatboxed the foundation of “Cry Me a River” before they built the track in the studio.

That detail explains why mouth-made rhythms kept surfacing in his work.

The playful tone here is different from other apologies in his past. He previously issued a public apology to Janet Jackson and Britney Spears following blowback, as reported by Rolling Stone. He later performed “Cry Me a River” at a New York concert after telling the crowd an apology was to “no one”, according to Rolling Stone.

Neither moment is connected to the beatboxing thread. This latest reply lives where it started: in Young’s comments, as a joke between a creator and a pop star willing to laugh at himself.