The fallout between Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake continues to make headlines amid the release of his new song, “Selfish.”
The Princess of Pop also released a song named “Selfish” in her 2011 Femme Fatale album, which has been charting higher than the “Cry Me A River” crooner’s new song.
The move seemed to prompt Britney to extend an olive branch to her ex, issuing an apology on Instagram while stating how much she liked his new song. However, that Instagram post was later deleted.
Britney Spears ‘Never Intended’ For Fans To Go After Justin Timberlake
The former couple dated from 1999 to 2002, but many details of their relationship were not made public until the “Toxic” singer released her October 2023 memoir, “The Woman In Me.”
In her book, she recalled how Justin pressured her to have an abortion, although after they broke up, she was portrayed as the “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy.”
According to one insider, Britney had no idea the backlash that Justin would face after she shared her story and claimed that she “never intended for people to come after him” after releasing her tell-all book.
“She didn’t realize how powerful her words would be,” an insider told the Daily Mail. “Regarding what she said in her book, she never intended for people to come after Justin in the way that they did. Ultimately it was Britney’s decision to abort her baby. It was her body and had she really wanted to say no, she could have.”
Justin Timberlake Reportedly Never Reached Out To His Ex
The insider noted that Britney still wishes Justin the best, although they noted that the two have not spoken following the release of her memoir.
“You will always have feelings for the first person that you loved,” the source said. “Justin has come to her defense before, and she didn’t want to hurt him like she did and change the opinion people have of him… It was her story and she told it how she felt it needed to be told.”
“Justin never reached out to Britney, and they have not had any private conversation,” they continued. “He has never apologized to her or addressed it with her. That being said, the fact that Britney’s song Selfish from 13 years ago is at number one is pure serendipity.”
In her deleted Instagram post from over the weekend, Britney wrote, “I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book. If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about I am deeply sorry…”
“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 together I laugh so hard ??? Ps ‘Sanctified’ is wow too,” she added, referring to the other new song Justin performed on last week’s episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
Britney Spears Details Their Break-Up In ‘The Woman In Me’
In her tell-all memoir, Britney lamented the way that she was portrayed by the media after their breakup. It didn’t help that Justin released a music video for “Cry Me A River” with a model who looked suspiciously like Britney, implying that she was unfaithful.
“I felt there was no way at the time to tell my side of the story,” Britney wrote in her memoir. “I couldn’t explain, because I knew no one would take my side once Justin had convinced the world of his version. I don’t think Justin realized the power he had in shaming me. I don’t think he understands to this day.”
She also revealed that she got pregnant in 2000 but decided to make the “agonizing” decision to terminate after Justin made it clear that he “didn’t want to be a father.”
“It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,” she wrote. “He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.”
“I don’t know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father,” she added.
Justin Timberlake Says ‘No Disrespect’ Before Singing ‘Cry Me A River’
Although “The Social Network” actor didn’t address the criticism at the time of the book’s release in October 2023, he seemed to acknowledge the backlash while performing at the opening of the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas last month. Before performing “Cry Me A River,” Justin said, “No disrespect.”
Another source told the Daily Mail at the time that although Britney “appreciated” the gesture, he never reached out to apologize to her.
“The disrespect to Britney was done a long time ago and although she appreciates his acknowledgment of it, Justin has never called her personally or reached out to her personally to apologize,” the insider said.
“He has never addressed this with her. Ever,” they added. “Britney has moved on from this and writing her book allowed her to release it. She’s good.”
Although Britney announced her intention to leave the music industry behind her earlier this month, she took to Instagram last night to tease a new project.
