Justin Timberlake Revs Up His Sex Machine

You may or may not think that Timberlake should be ashamed of his years with 'NSync - he certainly doesn't play any of those megahits in his concerts nowadays - but he has no regrets, aside from some of his outfits and hairdos. "They were great times, better than great times - even though, in the beginning, I was being monetarily raped by a Svengali," he says, referring to the group's start with Backstreet Boys impresario Lou Pearlman. "We were just five really lucky bastards."

One of whom, Lance Bass, was gay. Shortly after Timberlake's European trip, Bass came out. "I'd be lying if I said we didn't all know," Timberlake tells me a few weeks later. "It was never weird, though, and it was never spoken about. I think it's more about his self-acceptance than anything. I'm happy for him. At the same time, Lance is his own person, and the question has been thrown my way plenty of times since he announced it. At the end of the day, I don't feel like I should be bothered about it. He's my friend, and I'll always support and protect him."

As for Timberlake's own love life, he's not talking, though he's happy to take a swipe at the paparazzi, who have relentlessly hounded him and Cameron Diaz since they began dating three years ago. "They're like chromosomes that just keep multiplying," he says. "Sick fucks. It's got to top the list of the world's creepiest professions." He claims to be at peace with the shutter rats now, but, he says, "I've run the gamut with how I feel about it. I had the confrontation, where I slapped a paparazzo, and that was bad. I had to go meet the district attorney, who slapped the back of my hand and said I shouldn't retaliate with violence. I was like, 'Of course, you're right.' We live in an interesting time where everybody and everything is completely accessible. And I love what I do, but I also love my life and my privacy."

In the weeks before I meet Timberlake, the gossip columns are fooling themselves with the idea that Timberlake is dumping Diaz before he launches FutureSex/LoveSounds. But they're very much a couple. The night before his Amsterdam show, Timberlake plays Paris' La Cigale theater, which is draped in velvet like a burlesque club. Diaz is on her feet in the front of the balcony, singing the words to every song, including new ones like Timberlake's pimp anthem "Sexy Ladies," "My Love" and a ballad called "Until the End of Time."

After the show, in the lobby of the posh Le Faubourg Sofitel - around the corner from Yves St. Laurent, where Timberlake happily blew more than $13,000 that afternoon - Diaz rests her hand atop Timberlake's left pants pocket. Together they contemplate a late-night order from McDonald's - a cheeseburger for her, a fried apple pie for him - and with JT's mom they chat with manager Johnny Wright, who informs Timberlake that "SexyBack" was played more than 85,000 times on his MySpace page on the day of its debut. Harless and Diaz laugh about the girl in the front row wearing the I HAD JUSTIN THREE TIMES T-shirt. They hatch a plan to design two shirts for Timberlake's upcoming London show reading I HAD JUSTIN FIRST and I HAD JUSTIN LAST.