ONTD Original: 14 Times Justin Timberlake Has Publicly Put Down Britney Spears
After two decades, and on the heels of public uproar following the release of the New York Times documentary ‘Framing Britney Spears’, Justin Timberlake’s publicist has issued a public notes apology to Britney Spears. Over the course of the past twenty years, Justin Timberlake has used Britney Spears as his own personal punching bag. As many Justin apologists question the necessity of an apology, I ask that you all join me on a trip down memory lane to remind them of the 14 Times Justin Timberlake Has Publicly Put Down Britney Spears. With the help of the below sources (and my memory) let us begin. (Shout out to ljtryout for their marvelous post from 3 years ago, I will be revisiting a few of those moments for the purposes of this post.)
First, let’s set the stage.
Britney Jean Spears and Justin Randall Timberlake first met on the set of Mickie Mouse Club as kids. It has been documented that they had crushes on one another from the very start however, they did not begin to officially date until 1999.
As written in the 2008 Rolling Stone Britney Spears profile ‘Tragedy of Britney Spears’, friends close to the stars gave insight on their relationship at the time.
“Justin had his head screwed on so straight, and he rescued her from that world,” says a friend.
“Even though Britney was one of the biggest stars in the world and Timberlake was still just another guy in ’NSync, the power balance in their relationship was solid. “She wasn’t competitive about attention,” says a close friend. “She just wanted to be in love with him.”
Given that much of Britney’s image at the time was built on her ‘purity’, management had given both stars clear instructions - their relationship would be kept quiet and if asked they would tell the world that they planned to remain abstinent until marriage.
The Year Is 2001
They Go Public
Britney and Justin go public with their relationship. They have many public appearances together and the public eats it up. Every step taken by the couple is reported and many details of their relationship is made available for public consumption.
The Year is 2002: #1-4
Britney and Justin break up. Rumors of Britney’s infidelity heighten as she is viciously accused by mainstream media of cheating on a heartbroken Justin with her back up dancer Wade Robson. Despite there being rumors of Justin’s infidelity, supported by paparazzi shots taken of his nights out with other women, Britney was blamed for the breakdown of their relationship. The separation marks the beginning of Justin’s personal media campaign against Britney.
#1: To take advantage of public perception, as part of his album promotion for Justified, Justin appears on ABC for a sit-down interview with Barbara Walters. In this infamous interview Justin eggs on the cheating rumors and plays up his heart ache. He even goes as far as playing an unheard ballad titled ‘Horrible Woman’ for Walters.
Lyrics: “Thought our love was so strong. I guess I was dead wrong. But to look at it positively "Hey girl". At least you gave me another song about a horrible woman.”
Click to view#2: To reignite interest in his solo album that had a lackluster debut, Justin selects Cry Me a River as his second single. As you all know, the video features a Britney look-a-like. The single complemented with the video catapulted Justin’s career. During her 2004 interview with Diane Sawyer, Britney expressed that Justin had contacted her prior to the release of the video to catch up then ‘slipped in the fact that [her] look-a-like would be starring in his new video Cry Me A River’ and that she ‘could not think fast enough to object’.
@25:55
#3: While promoting Justified, Justin shares intimate details of his sex life with Britney live on the radio. Hosts at Hot 97 promise to give his newest single ‘Like I Love You’ 30 spins a week if he shares whether he “fucked Britney Spears”. Justin jumps at the opportunity responding with
“I did it! I’m dirty, I’m in so much damn trouble, man. I’m going to get calls from my mother!”
#4: He covers Details magazine and slams Britney’s choice to star in Crossroads.
“If she had a clue, she wouldn't have made ['Crossroads']."
The Year is 2003
#5: When it came time to embark on a tour for Justified, Justin joined forces with Christina Aguilera. Following the tour, Timberlake appeared on stage at the 2003 EMA’s with Christina Aguilera to support her during her hosting gig. In typical Timberlake and Aguilera fashion, the two could not miss out on the opportunity to take some jabs at Britney.
In the below video, Christina tells Justin that he “left a couple things on the tour bus” while backstage crew bring a blonde blow up doll to the stage. Christina proceeds to share that “she just wanted to return them to [him]” , Justin responds with “I’m so glad, I’ve been looking for that everywhere” to which she responds, “the writers thought it looked kind of familiar”.
@2:58
The Year Is 2006
#6: The same year that Britney is pregnant with her second child, Justin appears in the August 2006 issue of GQ magazine where he doubles down on his decision to air out their relationship in his music. Justin shares that he felt as though Britney had left him out to dry.
Quote: “I felt like she had a couple of opportunities to just sort of stick up for me, and she didn't. Which is fine. But at that time, you know, I fought back, and that's the way I fought back. I used my mind. I came up with a song."
The Year is 2007
#7: Britney Spears is experiencing a very public breakdown. Justin wins a Brit Award for best international male solo artist. During his acceptance speech he speaks directly in the camera and shares a message: “Stop drinking! You know who you are. I’m speaking to you. You are going to get sloppy. OK! magazine is going to say something bad about you”.
@2:20
When asked whether this comment was directed to Britney, Justin tells a GQ interviewer “Honestly, I am so far removed from that situation…. A coded message to Britney?”
#8: In 2007, Justin appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the peak of Britney’s very public breakdown, Oprah asks Justin ‘What [he] thought was going on with Britney”. Justin plays up an oblivious act with Oprah expressing that he hasn’t spoken about their relationship in a long time.
#9: Justin decides to do some mashups with his song Cry Me a River while on his 2007 tour. He performs Cry Me a River x Rehab by Amy Winehouse and Cry Me x River x Crazy by Gnarls Barkley to sold out crowds. He takes liberty in changing some of the lyrics:
Tried to make her go to rehab and she said no, no, no, tried to make her go to rehab and she said no, no, no, no”
“That she was crazy, I think she’s crazy, I should have seen…that she was crazy, that she was crazy, that she was crazy, I should’ve seen. I remember when, I remember, I remember when she lost her mind” : @9:04
#10: Justin drops What Goes Around...Comes Around as a single. The public begins to speculate if it was about Britney considering that the song was about infidelity in a relationship and karma. Justin claims that the song was about his best friend’s lived experience.
The Year Is 2008
#11: Justin is given the honor of presenting Madonna with a speech for her induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Of course, Justin cannot help himself and includes a joke at Britney’s expense. In the below clip Justin mentions “the world has long been full of Madonna wannabes and I might have even dated a couple…”
@1:05
The Year Is 2009
#12: Justin appears on SNL and takes part in a sketch where he brings up having sex with Britney as a teenager.
“I’d like to think that at first he’d date a popular female singer. Publicly they will claim to be virgins but privately he hit it “.
Justin has also made other references to Britney on SNL which can be seen below:
The Year Is 2013
#13: Justin performs at a Superbowl afterparty and during his set before Cry Me a River, he shares the following with the crowd:
“Sometimes in life you think you found the one but then one day you find out that she is just some bitch”
When the video went viral, Justin took to Twitter to clear the air.
Ok. I see you. Wouldn't disrespect ANYONE personally. Ever. #Relax #ItsBritneyBitch I do love that saying though*with accent* #Respect
- Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) February 3, 2013
The Year is 2018
#14: Britney has been in Vegas for 5 years for her Vegas residency and has been credited for changing the stigma of residencies being reserved for retired acts. In a sit-down interview with Zane Lowe in promotion of the album Man of the Woods, Justin is asked if he would consider a Vegas Residency. His response: “I mean I wouldn’t rule it out if it was something that was different, I definitely don’t…you know… [laughs]…it feels like…you’re planning your retirement. You know what I mean? So for some reason that feels, like, scary to me…
@27:54
And there you have it, 14 times throughout the years that Justin Timberlake has publicly insulted and degraded Britney Spears. Share this post with any Justin Timberfake apologist you know and if anyone asks why Britney + Justin is a topic of discussion in 2021, remind them that it was Justin who kept her name in his mouth for clout for all these years.
#15: When Timbaland got upset at Britney in 2007 for not accepting his recording invitation and passing up on the opportunity to collaborate with Justin. Timbaland believed that she needed a hit with Justin to get back in the public’s good graces. Timbaland shared that Justin would agree to the collaboration if she was serious.
"She needs a story,"..."She has no comeback story. That's the problem. She has to have a team. She needs to come back with Justin doing records; [then we'd see headlines like,] 'She went back to her ex and she's making smashes.' [But instead she got] so big-headed and [was] like, 'Screw you, screw you, I don't need nobody.' "
When asked if he could see them ever collaborating in the future after this 'snub', Timbaland said the following:
"She should humble herself and make a phone call and say, 'I'm sorry.' She knows what she's sorry about,"…"She needs to say, 'I was wrong,' and it'll definitely move forward. ... That's all she has to say.
#16: When Justin wrote and produced “Falling Down” for Duran Duran that was released as a single in 2007. Duran Duran went on to release their music video set at a rehab facility that included a Britney look-alike. They later confirmed it was inspired by her.
“I suppose it’s loosely based on her, but not [only] on one celebrity - just celebrity culture in general…A lot of [young celebrities] seem to disappear into rehab. … So it’s kind of like, what could be happening in your wildest dream in that rehab center?” drummer Roger Taylor
Sources
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22