Alisha Wainwright - Who Was Caught In That Handholding Scandal - Praises Justin Timberlake In New Interview

Remember Justin Timberlake‘s infamous hand-holding scandal with Palmer co-star Alisha Wainwright?!

Seems like literally forever ago, doesn’t it? After all, we’ve had an attempted coup, a whole freakin’ pandemic, and about a million other major celebrity news stories in the 27 months since the indiscretion first popped up. But the movie the two were shooting when the hand-holding got caught — Palmer — is now streaming on Apple TV+, and so Wainwright is back in the news doing interview to promote the film!

Speaking to ET on Wednesday, the 31-year-old actress had nothing but good things to say about Palmer. Even more interestingly, though, she had great things to say about her co-star! In a virtual interview with journalist Katie Krause, Wainwright went out of her way to praise Timberlake as a “mega-star” who gave a great performance in the new movie. She said:

“This guy is a mega star and he’s one of the most recognizable faces. I thought he was incredible in this movie. You’d be surprised how someone is in character. You can take away all the noise and just focus on what’s in front of you like, ‘Let’s make a movie.'”

Yes, and what about the little hand-holding scandal y’all went through…?

Wainwright was too smart for that — and probably well-coached by a PR flack — so the topic never came up. Besides, she got off (relatively) easily afterwards; it was Timberlake who (rightfully) had to deal with the mountain of s**t he created in the ensuing controversy with wife Jessica Biel.

All’s well that apparently ends well, though! Of course, the former boy band star and the 7th Heaven alum recently welcomed their second child to the world. So perhaps everybody has truly moved on from that naughty night down in New Orleans. That’s definitely a good thing at least as far as Palmer is concerned, because this looks like a really powerful movie.

Wainwright was quick to plug the film, which grapples with bullying and gender identity in a conservative southern town, during that ET interview, too. She said:

“I’m just happy to be a part of anything that sends a positive message. Especially to children and people who don’t typically get the spotlight in movies. I would love a world where people can be themselves and not be shamed or ridiculed for [their gender identity].”

Amen! Like we said, the movie itself is serious, and emotional, and looks like a significant film full of good acting performances and important themes. And yes, Justin and Alisha do have a little chemistry between them on camera, at least based on what we saw in the trailer!

Will U watch Palmer as it streams on AppleTV+ this month, Perezcious readers?? Or have you already seen it?! Sound OFF with your thoughts and reactions to the film and Wainwright’s effusive Timberlake interview praise down in the comments (below)…

[Image via WENN/Instar/Avalon]