'Justified'

It's tough to hate Justin Timberlake.

Has anyone turned into such a highly-regarded entertainer and such a cool guy that started out doing Mickey Mouse Club and making his name in a boy band?

These days, no matter what he does, it's golden. He wants to be an actor, he can hold his own. He wants to be funny and going on Saturday Night Live as Barry Gibb, the can do it with aplomb. He wants to record and release a Grammy-winning R&B record? Sure, why not?

Timberlake was a co-conspirator in the "Nipplegate" incident with Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004 (he was 24 at the time, FYI). Jackson took all the heat. Timberlake skated.

It's easy to think that the woman is always blamed, but I think there were bigger things going on. Timberlake continued to put himself out there. I don't know of one thing Janet Jackson's done since.

Timberlake is not only really talented, but he plays it all right in the media. He sleeps around with a bunch of hot women? OK. That's cool because he's cool. When he's cracking jokes on SNL, he's Everyman (despite being better at most thing than all of us). He's not unlike us with our buddies acting retarded and cracking our own jokes.

He screws up as much as any celebrity really (if Kim Kardashian slept with men like Timberlake sleeps with women -- and she does -- she'd be run through the coals -- and she is), but no one plays to the camera like Timberlake.

We are all smitten.