Prince fans were not here for Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show

Thanks to a little thing called Twitter, we now have the ability to know what millions of people are thinking — in real time. And it’s looking like a lot of people weren’t too happy about Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show, mostly because of a now infamous Prince (non)-hologram.

Timberlake projected a giant moving image of Prince while he performed a cover of the singers’ “I Would Die 4 U.” However, many felt the projection was suspiciously close to a hologram, and fans of the icon are well-aware that he was against the use of such devices in live performances, once even calling them “demonic.”

In a 1998 interview with Guitar World, Prince said,

"That's the most demonic thing imaginable," he said at the time. "Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon. Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control."

So it’s easy to see where the outrage is coming from on this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z3EUY1aXdY?feature=oembed

Fans took to Twitter to voice their dislike of the creative choice.

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However, Prince’s family has gone on the record to say that they approved of the tribute, which will hopefully ease fan pain today. Prince’s half-brother Omarr Baker, who was vocal about Prince’s wishes prior to the Super Bowl, tweeted a thumbs up to Timberlake.

One thing’s for sure: The tribute was a solid reminder of how talented Prince was, and how influential he continues to be.