Justin Timberlake surprised his fans with the announcement of a second "The 20/20 Experience" album later this year, but one charity was not so pleased with the pop star's first single from the album. "Take Back The Night" is also the trademarked name of a charitable organization working to prevent sexual assault.
Lawyers from the foundation sent a letter to Timberlake, but haven't gotten a formal response from the performer yet. Timberlake did offer his apologies during an interview with Radar Online, and said he would be willing to use the song to promote the organization's cause. Timberlake admitted that he had never heard of Take Back The Night prior to the controversy.
"It just shows how far we have to go when Take Back the Night as a historic movement to end sexual violence in all forms is still not widely enough known, according to Mr. Timberlake, that he claims he didn't know that we existed," said Katherine Koestner, the executive director of the foundation. "It shows exactly how much work we have to do as an organization and as a cause to end sexual violence to get our visibility increased in pop culture."
She wasn't sure how well the song would work to promote the foundation's causes. She noted that although the lyrics were clearly not about sexual assault, they were about sex, and she didn't want to give the idea that the group was against sex as a whole. Still, she seemed positive and hoped that the two sides could work out an agreement to keep everyone happy.
"As a foundation, we're all about promoting healthy, respectful relationships," Koestner said. "So if Justin is on the side of healthy, respectful relationships, then we're a fan of his. And I hope we can move forward with his voice, and all of those throughout the world that stand against sexual violence."
