Britney Spears posted and then quickly deleted a sweet message praising Janet Jackson amid her ongoing feud with ex-boyfriend and famous singer Justin Timberlake. On Feb. 24, the “Hit Me Baby…” songstress took to Instagram with a sweet tribute to honor Jackson, posting the cover art of the star’s 1993 album, Janet.
“Thank you to this beautiful lady for keeping my dreams and heart alive,” Spears, 42, penned.
“She’s always been the deepest and brightest woman at the same time. She went through so much but I feel she is someone I will look up to for the rest of my life,” the pop singer added in her since-deleted tribute post. “Thank you for your music and your divine way of untangling intelligence to a far more clear view than anyone could ever imagine.”
Spears and Jackson, 57, have been at odds with Timberlake in the past. For the former, tension with the NSYNC artist sparked shortly after the release of her popular memoir, The Woman in Me, in October 2023. Inside the New York Times Bestseller, Spears — who dated Timberlake between 1999 and 2002 — accused the “Suit & Tie” hitmaker of cheating on her. She also exposed sensitive details about the abortion she experienced while dating the 10-time Grammy winner.
At his show in New York City Jan. 31, Timberlake seemingly dissed his ex-girlfriend and took a clear dig at the memoir, telling the audience that he wasn’t apologizing to “absolutely f—king nobody” right before he launched into “Cry Me A River,” a song that is reportedly about his bad breakup with Spears.
According to Page Six, on Instagram, the 42-year-old songstress swiftly retaliated against her former partner, writing in a since-deleted post, “I’ve heard there’s been some talkin’ s–t about me out there!!!”
She added, “Shall we handle this in court, or are you just gonna run home crying to mommy like last time??? No apologies coming from me!!!”
On X, fans of Spears dragged the singer for his petty jab. Jackson fans also took the shady comment personally. They pondered if the statement was a sour reference to the controversy that sparked shortly after Timberlake exposed Jackson’s breast at the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The “Rock Your Body” singer didn’t encounter the level of scrutiny and backlash experienced by the Poetic Justice star in the months and years that followed the incident. Additionally, the embarrassing experience overshadowed the 57-year-old singer’s career while Timberlake’s remained largely intact.
The 43-year-old celeb’s snarky remark came one month after Spears apologized for exposing sensitive details about their relationship inside The Woman in Me.
“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,” the pop star wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post on Jan. 29, according to Ok Magazine. She also shared a nice compliment about Timberlake’s new song “Selfish,” telling fans that it was “So good.”
In 2021, Timberlake issued a lengthy apology to Jackson and Spears for his failure to support them during their negative battles with the media.
“I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns, and I want to respond,” Timberlake penned on Instagram in February of that year. “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn or did not speak up for what was right,” he said.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care for and respect these women, and I know I failed.”
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