Joey Fatone: Why Justin didn’t perform with Ariana, NSYNC at Coachella

From the mouth of Joey Fatone! The Common Knowledge host confirmed the reason Justin Timberlake missed out on ‘NSync’s 2019 Coachella performance with Ariana Grande — and it’s just what everyone suspected.

“He was still doing his tour, he had just finished his tour,” Fatone, 42, told TMZ when asked why the “Cry Me a River” crooner, 38, wasn’t a part of the reunion performance with Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez during Grande’s set. “So, he wasn’t able to come back and do rehearsals with us.”

Fatone added: “No, he wasn’t [able to fit it in], man. Think about it, you’ve been doing a long tour, would you want to do something after that?” As for if Timberlake was up for doing it had he not been busy, the New York native told TMZ “oh, yeah!”

The Dancing With the Stars alum also didn’t completely turn down the possibility that he, Timberlake, Bass, 39, Kirkpatrick, 47, and Chasez, 42, could all possibly hit the road for a reunion tour in the future. “Who knows?” Fatone quipped. “Never say never.”

The “God Is a Woman” songstress, 25, sent the Coachella crowd into overdrive when she brought out the former boyband, sans Timberlake, to perform their hit song “Tearing Up My Heart” — complete with full choreography — on Sunday, April 14.

The night prior to surprise gig, Timberlake wrapped up his Man of the Woods tour at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut. The Friends with Benefits actor’s wife, Jessica Biel, gushed over her beau in a lengthy Instagram video to help him conclude the tour.

“Hey Tennessee kid. I’m being quiet because you’re in the next room. It’s your last show, it’s the last Man of the Woods show tonight. And I would say that I’m so proud of you but I feel like that’s the understatement of the century and that somehow that I take ownership to what you’ve done this past year and a half,” the 7th Heaven alum, 37, said in the clip. “I just am in absolute awe of you every night to see you up there in your glory, doing what you’ve been put on this Earth to do.”

Biel continued with a nod to the couple’s 4-year-old son, Silas, telling her husband that he “inspires” them and “everyone around” including fans, family members and friends.

“You are truly a sight to behold. I’m so happy that you’re going to get some time off. I’m so happy for you and for us,” she concluded. “And I’m also, I’m so sad that I won’t be able to see you up there again for a while … You make my heart burst with joy and love when I see you doing your thing, baby. I’m your No. 1 fan, I love you.”