Justin Timberlake means ‘no disrespect’ to Britney Spears in ‘Cry Me a River’ performance
Justin Timberlake’s breakup anthem “Cry Me a River” was a musical dig at ex-girlfriend Britney Spears when it dropped in 2002. More than 20 years later, Timberlake has added a subtle disclaimer to soften the blow of his scathing hit.
“No disrespect,” he told fans on Wednesday before launching into the song. The ‘N Sync star and 10-time Grammy winner performed a surprise set at the star-studded grand opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The singer said those two words before remixing lyrics of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with the opening lines of his song, as seen in a TikTok video. Walking across the stage in a white tuxedo jacket and black pants, Timberlake then sang, “You were my sun / You were my earth.”
Britney Spears revealed she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake. ‘He didn’t want to be a father,’ she wrote in her new memoir, ‘The Woman in Me.’
Timberlake released “Cry Me a River” after his highly publicized split with pop diva Spears. They began dating in 1999 but ended things in 2002. The song’s lyrics allude to infidelity and an irreparable romance. The music video, on the other hand, was less subtle: In it, Timberlake thrashes the home of a Spears lookalike and spies on her in the shower.
The “SexyBack” singer performed “Cry Me a River” on Wednesday months after Spears dropped her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” in October. In the book, Spears reflected on her relationship with Timberlake — including her abortion and an allegedly cringe-worthy interaction between the R&B artist and singer Ginuwine.
Timberlake did not directly mention Spears on Wednesday, but fans said on social media that his divisive performance was his own way of addressing Spears’ bombshell revelations. The singer has not publicly addressed Spears’ scathing book, which also went into her conservatorship and marriage to Kevin Federline.
Michelle Williams’ impression of Justin Timberlake as she narrates Britney Spears’ memoir is going viral as ‘the greatest clip of audio since Watergate.’
Amid the release of “The Woman in Me,” producer Timbaland slammed Spears and defended his longtime collaborator. “I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl,’” Timbaland said during an October Q&A at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Timbaland’s comments quickly caught flak on social media as he faced allegations of misogyny. Shortly after a social media outcry, he proved it wasn’t too late to apologize.
“I’m sorry to all the Britney fans, even to her,” Timbaland said on a TikTok live. “I’m sorry, ’cause ‘muzzle’ was — no, you have a voice, you speak what you want to speak. Who am I to tell you what not to speak? And I was wrong for saying that.”
Timbaland, when asked about the revelations in Britney Spears’ memoir, says Justin Timberlake should have put a ‘muzzle’ on his ‘crazy’ ex-girlfriend.
For Timberlake, Wednesday’s performance was all about taking the stage with other sharp-dressed folks and spending time in Vegas with wife Jessica Biel, with whom he shares two sons.
“I could never walk a mile in her shoes, but you know it’s been a good night when I’m carrying the heels home,” he captioned Instagram photos of himself and Biel walking down a hotel hallway. In her Instagram post, Biel said she and her husband were “On our suit and tie s—.”
Timberlake performed for a crowd that reportedly also included Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Lenny Kravitz, Cher, Ivanka Trump and Bill Gates.
Times staff writers Carlos De Loera and Jonah Valdez contributed to this report.
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