Justin Timberlake 'performed' with Prince and everyone is making the same point

Ahead of Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl performance on Sunday, rumours were swirling that the singer was considering performing a with hologram of musical legend Prince.

The idea sparked plenty of criticism - and it didn't help that, in a 1997 interview, Prince said that using a hologram of a dead artist would “the most demonic imaginable.”

But no hologram surfaced during the performance in Minneapolis, Prince's hometown, as the crowd and viewers waited in anticipation for Timberlake's tribute to the pop icon.

Instead, the 37-year-old performed the Prince song I Would Die 4 U, as a video of the late singer was projected on a screen behind.

Following that, the city around the stadium was illuminated in purple (Prince’s signature colour) in a spectacular display of light.

But still, the tribute perplexed some fans who expressed their dismay on Twitter.

An apparent dispute between the two singers also resurfaced during the outcry. Fans recounted the time Prince reportedly cracked a joke about Justin’s hit SexyBack.

The singer, who died in 2016 from an accidental drug overdose, allegedly said that “sexy never left", and Justin mocked Prince’s 5'2 height when he accepted award for Prince at the Golden Globes in 2007.

Some Prince fans claimed the icon would not have been pleased with Justin Timberlake’s tribute.