Justin Timberlake talks about the trauma from his appearance at Toronto’s SARS-Fest

It’s been 17 years since Justin Timberlake took the stage at the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto festival, an event that marked one of Timberlake’s first and most memorable performances as a solo act. The former NSYNC member was performing on the stacked bill to help raise money and awareness for Toronto’s tourism economy after it had been crushed by the SARS outbreak, but instead of receiving a warm and polite welcome from a notoriously gracious crowd, Timberlake was pelted with bottles of urine. Oh, Canada.It only takes a few bad apples to ruin the bunch, and unfortunately these apples arrived at the festival early in the morning and got spots close to the front of the stage. Timberlake appeared on The Graham Norton show this month and relieved the ‘trauma’ of appearing at the event, which was nicknamed SARSfest, recalling just how bad things got for the pop singer who was situated on a bill that was mostly made up of rock and folk artists.Timberlake recounted the saga to Norton, as well as fellow guests Anna Kendrick, Oti Mabuse, and Alan Carr. “All of a sudden, bottles of urine were then thrown on the stage,” said Timberlake. “I was trying to at least remember lyrics that I actually wrote to the first song I’m singing. I still have a lot of trauma.” The popstar said he remembers the event’s host approaching him after the first song and giving him an out, but Timberlake persevered. “I was like ‘No, man. I’m staying out here. We’re doing this,'” he said.

“The first song, I was at the mic, I’m like moving around and singing at the same time. I was kind of impressed with myself,” said Timberlake, who soon realized his next song would make things more difficult for himself. “And then the second song was ‘Senorita.’ And I play a Rhodes electric piano on that song. So, then all of a sudden, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh no, I’m immobile!” Whether it was dehydration or simply common sense, Timberlake was finally saved by some divine intervention. “After that song, either one of two things happened: Either they ran out of nerve because they knew I was gonna stay there, or they ran out of urine. So, kids, be tenacious.” Timberlake famously returned to the stage later during the show to sing with The Rolling Stones and when the booing began once again, an unimpressed Keith Richards stepped in to wag his finger at the rowdy crowd.The concert was a response to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed 13 Canadians in 2003. Led by the Rolling Stones, the concert was aimed at reinvigorating Toronto’s tourism economy, which had lost millions because of the SARS warning from the World Health Organization. Hosted by Dan Aykroyd, the festival held 500,000 people at Downsview Park, including many medical personnel and support workers who attended for free as a thank you for their work during the SARS outbreak. The festival featured performances by The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, The Flaming Lips, The Guess Who, the Isley Brothers, Sass Jordan and more. Alberta beef was sold at the event in support of Alberta farmers who had been negatively impacted by mad cow disease. The one-day event continues to hold the record for the largest ticketed outdoor event in Canadian history.