LOS ANGELES — Justin Timberlake on Friday agreed to accompany a US Marine to a military ball, after encouraging his “Friends with Benefits” co-star Mila Kunis to accept a similar invitation earlier in the week.
Timberlake was asked about Corporal Kelsey De Santis’ invite, posted on YouTube, to the Marine Corps Ball on November 12 in Washington, D.C., during a promotional event for “Friends with Benefits.”
“I’ll tell you what, I accept,” the actor-singer said. He then went on to explain his reasons, saying “I don’t get asked out. Ever. So I was very flattered by that.”
“And I hear that she’s trained in martial arts so I’m hoping we can tussle,” he joked.
“If my schedule works out to do it, I’d love to do it. It’s an honor,” Timberlake said while sitting alongside Kunis, who had urged him to “do it for your country.”
The Golden Globe-nominated actress had already agreed to attend the Marine Corps Ball in North Carolina on November 18 with Sgt. Scott Moore after he asked her to be his date in a video also posted on YouTube.
Moore is currently stationed in Afghanistan. Kunis had been unaware of the Marine’s video until she was asked during an interview with FOXNews.com whether she would be accepting Moore’s invitation.
The actress, 27, agreed to attend after a little prodding from Timberlake. “You need to do it for your country,” Timberlake, 30, told Kunis.
Kunis said “yes,” yet reports surfaced Thursday that she will be in production on two films on the date of the ball and was therefore trying to meet up with Moore for a private get-together at an undisclosed location to make up for missing the event.
But E! Online reported that while Kunis does have schedule conflicts, she and her team were doing all they could to organize her production schedule so that she and Moore could attend the highly anticipated event together.
Kunis confirmed Friday she would be attending the ball with Moore saying, “never did I say that I was not going.”