A few days ago, Britney Spears issued an apology to people she’d “offended” in her 2023 memoir — one of them being her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
Justin and Britney dated way back, between 1999 and 2002. After their controversial split, he publicly shaded her numerous times and made crude remarks about their sex life, resulting in Britney being vilified by the media.
In more recent years, Justin has faced heavy backlash for his treatment of Britney at this time — namely since the release of the #FreeBritney documentaries and the end of her conservatorship in 2021.
That same year, Justin briefly apologized to Britney, acknowledging that he “benefited from a system” that condoned misogyny in a since-deleted Instagram statement.
But a couple of years later, Justin came under fire once again after Britney released her tell-all memoir, titled The Woman in Me.
Britney made a series of shocking revelations about Justin in her book — including that she’d had an abortion while they were dating because “he didn’t want to be a father,” and that she felt his infamous breakup anthem “Cry Me a River” — which heavily insinuated that she’d cheated on him — painted her a as a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America's golden boy.”
And while Britney did admit in the book that she’d kissed someone else during her and Justin’s relationship, she said she only did so after hearing that he’d been unfaithful himself.
What’s more, Britney went on to directly address Justin by praising his new single, “Selfish.” She wrote, "I also wanted to say I am in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song 'Selfish' 🌹 It is soo good and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy [Fallon] together I laugh so hard ??? Ps 'Sanctified' is wow 🤩 too.”
Several people praised Britney for her “mature” message toward her ex. However, it now seems as though Justin isn’t quite on the same wavelength.
At a show in New York City last night, Justin made an eyebrow-raising remark onstage about how he’d like to apologize to “fucking nobody.”
“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely fucking nobody,” he loudly declared.
As perhaps expected, it wasn’t long before people began speculating that Justin had been throwing shade at Britney with his message, with several X (formerly known as Twitter) users hopping online to call him out.
“idk why he would think that's appropriate,” another tweet read.
What’s more, it was later uncovered that Justin’s controversial remark was made exactly 20 years after his infamous incident with Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl.
As you’re probably aware, Justin accidentally exposed Janet’s breast during their joint halftime performance when he ripped away part of her costume. She was publicly vilified for years following the incident, and her career massively suffered. Meanwhile, Justin escaped virtually unscathed, and even contributed to the widespread mockery of her by making light of the entire thing.
Justin ended up briefly apologizing to Janet in 2021 when he issued his aforementioned statement that mentioned Britney. However, many fans have felt that his apology was lackluster, given just how badly Janet’s career was impacted.
Several social media users brought this into view now. “The way Janet and Britney apologize constantly for things not their fault,” one person tweeted. “It’ll always be justice for Janet Jackson! That small second not only overshadowed her entire performance, but also overshadowed her career from that point forward. [...] She STILL deserves an apology!” someone else said.
