Justin Timberlake understands illegal downloaders

Justin Timberlake has admitted that he would probably have downloaded music illegally.

The 29 year old superstar admitted in an interview with NME that 'llegal downloading didn't affect me so much. When it came out I was probably about 19, so I understood both sides of it.

'f I hadn't dropped out of school I probably would have been at university and I probably would have been downloading music if it was that easy to.

'So I identify very emotionally with the defendants, being college kids that these labels were going after.'

He also added 'The record companies should take responsibility for not being of the time and not paying closer attention to what was going on. I don't think one person sitting in a dorm room killed the music industry.'

Timberlake stars as Sean Parker - co-founder of Napster and early 'consultant' to Facebook - in The Social Network, which is in cinemas worldwide now.