Timbaland apologized for his comments about Britney Spears amid the buzz surrounding her tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me. After facing backlash from her fan base for saying that Justin Timberlake should have “put a muzzle” on her, the record producer, 51, extended an apology in a TikTok Live.
“I apologize to the Britney fans, even to her,” he said on November 7. “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, but I was looking at it from a different lens.” A social media user then asked Timbaland whether he respects women, to which he responded, “Hell yeah.”
One week ago, Timbaland angered countless fans when he called Britney, 41, “crazy” in response to her book, which dives deep into her and Justin’s past relationship. Britney claimed that the “Mirrors” artist, 42, wanted her to get an abortion and that both of them cheated on each other before they broke up in 2002.
“She going crazy,” Timbaland said during a Q&A at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on October 29. “I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.’ But you know what? We live in an age of social media and everybody wanna go viral. I get it because that’s the way you make money. Go viral.”
Despite her bombshell revelations about Justin (among several other topics), the “Gimme More” singer insisted that she didn’t publish her memoir to “offend” anybody who was mentioned in the book.
“My book’s purpose was not to offend anyone by any means,” Britney wrote via Instagram shortly before her book reached shelves on October 24. “That was me then … that is in the past!!!! I don’t like the headlines I am readying … that’s exactly why I quit the business 4 years ago !!! Most of the book is from 20 years ago . I have moved on and it’s a beautiful clean slate from here !!!! I am here to establish it that way for the rest of my entire life [sic]!!!!”
Britney continued by noting, “This is actually a book I didn’t know needed to be written . although some might be offended, it has given me closure on all things for a better future!!!! Hopefully I can enlighten people who feel particularly alone in most cases or hurt or misunderstood!!!!”