Courtesy of Tina DiLascioAs if anyone needed another reason to love Justin Timberlake, here's a darling example of him being a genuine, stand-up guy with a heart of gold.
Giana Dilascio, a 13-year-old girl who had brain surgery last year, tagged along with her mom Tina to pick up a pair of concert tickets in New York City on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Tina, along with Giana's siblings, happened to be in the right place at the right time when the "Mirrors" singer approached the security area where they were waiting, only J.T.'s superfan had just stepped away around the corner!
"So I'm screaming at Justin like, 'Oh my, God! I can't believe it,'" Tina tells E! News exclusively. "And the security guard said, 'He's supposed to be passing through quickly, so no pictures.' And [to Justin] I was like, 'Please, you have to meet my daughter.' He listened. I said my daughter had brain surgery last year, she was a Make-A-Wish candidate, and can you please meet her. He said, yes, he'd definitely meet her."
Mom went to get Giana, but "didn't say who it was" she was bringing her back to see. And when she came face to face with the superstar himself? "It took her like two or three seconds," Tina says. "She was like, 'Oh my gosh! I can't believe it.'"
"He didn't rush it," she says of the meeting, adding that despite those around him urging him on to hurry along with his press tour, he "really took some time out—genuinely—to meet Giana."
Justin was "a complete gentleman," winning over not just Giana, but the whole family. "He talked to my 3-year-old, and he shook my 8-year-old son's hand and asked him his name, too," Tina says. "He's just a good person—very chill, very humble."
When mom asked the pop icon to please take a picture with Giana, he agreed, politely asked the security guard for permission before doing so. "He put his arm around her [for the pic] and said, 'Be well,'" says Tina.
"It's funny, because we've talked about it more since it actually happened, and Giana said, 'I really thought celebrities would be stuck up," Tina says, "And Justin was the complete opposite of that." (Good job Randy Timberlake and Lynn Harless for raising a good Southern boy with manners and class!)
Giana, who is thankfully "doing great" and healthy one year after her surgery, was truly moved by Justin's kindness. "He doesn't even know that it touched her life—it was more than just meeting a 13-year-old. It really inspired her and gave her a platform to reach out to kids going through hard times," says Tina. "She got to say, 'Look, I had brain surgery last year, but now I'm doing great, and something awesome just happened!'"
"It's just the message of, 'You can survive this. If you're going through something really tough, you can get through it," she adds.
All in all, it turned out to be a pretty sweet chance encounter! And props to Justin—and Giana—for spreading kindness in this world.