Lou Pearlman: Justin Timberlake pays tribute to former NSYNC manager

Justin Timberlake paid tribute to the late Lou Pearlman, who formed and managed *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys in the ’90s before going to prison in 2008 for a variety of crimes including money laundering and conspiracy, in a tweet Sunday. Pearlman died Friday at age 62.

“I hope he found some peace,” Timberlake wrote. “God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.”

Pearlman formed *NSYNC in 1995, and the band went on to release their debut self-titled in 1998. That year, the two parties began a public legal battle, which included *NSYNC suing Pearlman for taking a large chunk of their earnings and Pearlman trying to prevent *NSYNC from switching from RCA Records to Jive Records. He was unsuccessful, and the fivesome recorded their next and final two albums — 2000’s No Strings Attached and 2001’s Celebrity — with Jive.

Fellow *NSYNC members Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass also commented on Pearlman’s death in social media posts. “Mixed emotions right now, but RIP Lou Pearlman,” Kirkpatrick wrote. “Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away,” Bass said. “He might not have been a stand up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today wout his influence. RIP Lou.”

See the tweets below.