Justin Timberlake has remained quiet amid the buzz surrounding Britney Spears’ bombshell memoir, The Woman in Me. Now that the pop star, 41, has exposed her and Justin’s “dirty laundry,” Us Weekly reported that he feels “disappointed” in her descriptions of him.
“Justin thought Britney might talk about their ups and downs in more general terms — not air out their very personal, dirty laundry,” a source told the publication in an article published on October 25. “He’s disappointed she went this route decades after they split up.”
Justin, 42, and Britney broke up in 2002. In her book — which hit book shelves on October 24 — the “Gimme More” artist revealed that she and Justin cheated on each other throughout their relationship and hid her pregnancy from everyone by having her get an abortion. Britney claimed that Justin “didn’t want to be a father” at the time and wanted her to undergo the procedure.
“They’ve been out of each other’s lives for such a long time,” the insider noted before adding, “Justin finds it odd that Britney still talks about him so much.”
Britney went into detail about her at-home abortion in the memoir. At one point in the book, she described the abortion medication as “excruciating” and painful, adding that Justin tried to comfort her by playing music while she was “sobbing.”
“It took hours, and I don’t remember how it ended, but I do, 20 years later, remember the pain of it, and the fear,” Britney explained in one excerpt.
Britney’s revelations about her and Justin’s past relationship sparked outrage among fans. Many have called out the “Mirrors” singer for his actions, but Britney insisted in an October 20 Instagram statement that she has “moved on” from the past, adding that her book wasn’t meant to “offend” anyone.
A second source described a different mindset from Justin to Us Weekly, noting that he “regrets” hurting Britney.
“He was young,” the second insider added. “He thinks Britney has every right to tell her story and hopes they can move on now.” Not only that, but this source also claimed that the “Cry Me a River” singer wants to contact his former girlfriend “to see if she’d like to talk things out. He wants to ask if there’s anything he can do.”
Though Justin has not publicly commented on Britney’s memoir, he apologized to her in 2021 in an Instagram statement that was written for her and Janet Jackson, regarding how Janet, 57, was unfairly scrutinized over her Super Bowl “Nipplegate” incident.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others … 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,” he wrote at the time.