Carson Kressley, a star on the original Queer Eye, came to the defense of Justin Timberlake amid the “Suit & Tie” singer’s hand-holding controversy with actress Alisha Wainwright. Back on Nov. 23, the U.K. tabloid The Sun published photos showing the married Timberlake holding Wainwright’s hand outside a bar in New Orleans, where the two are filming the movie Palmer. There have since been reports that there is nothing between them, and a source said Timberlake “feels guilty” about it.
In an interview with TooFab last week, Kressley said he believed the interaction between Timberlake and Wainwright was “totally innocent.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
“He was holding hands. I know the body language. I think it was totally innocent,” Kressley, who was a member of the original Queer Eye “Fab Five,” told TooFab.
On Nov. 23, photos showing Timberlake and Wainwright sitting at a New Orleans bar balcony, with the two holding hands under a table. One photo showed Wainwright with her hand on Timberlake’s leg. Sources told The Sun it appeared that Timberlake was “drinking heavily and was unsteady on his feet.”
Timberlake has been married to Jessica Biel for seven years and are parents to son Silas, 4.
Since the photos surfaced, sources close to Timberlake and Wainwright have tried to shoot down speculation of a relationship between the two. “There is no validity to the speculation,” Wainwright’s representative told Entertainment Tonight.
A source also told E! News that Timberlake “feels guilty” about the situation.
“They are downplaying everything and trying to laugh it off as nothing,” the source explained. “But it was definitely inappropriate and something that would make any wife uncomfortable.”
Timberlake had “too much to drink and got carried away,” the insider added, explaining that his marriage “will survive. He feels guilty and will make it up to her.”
Since the incident, Biel has been spotted in public wearing the wedding ring. An InTouch Weekly source took a cynical view on this though, claiming wearing her ring was an attempt to “save face.”
“She’s an extremely private person who hates being gossiped about,” the source told InTouch. “Just because she’s wearing it doesn’t mean she’s not mad. She feels totally humiliated by Justin and still hasn’t forgiven him.”
Timberlake has also been spotted on the Palmer set not wearing his wedding ring, although that might be because of the character he is playing. In the film, he plays a college football star trying to put his life together after he is released from prison. Wainwright plays a teacher who starts a relationship with Timberlake’s character.
Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic/Getty Images
