It's been five It's been years since Justin Timberlake's last tour, but in recent weeks, he's been hitting the road with some one-off concerts ahead of his upcoming album Everything I thought I was, out March 15. During these performances, a recurring performance piece appeared. On Wednesday night, before performing “Cry Me a River” at New York's Irving Plaza, Timberlake announced, “I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize … to absolutely no fucking person.”
The moment – shared on social media by fans who attended the free concert and widely shared by those who saw it as a jab at Britney Spears – harkened back to the singer's Las Vegas performance in December. In the same part of his set, just before “Cry Me a River,” Timberlake remarked, “No disrespect… Aren't we all just entertainers? Do you think I'm stupid and contagious?' During a recent show in Memphis, he also went from “Holy Grail” to “Cry Me a River,” but without the caveat about respect.
The Las Vegas show came weeks after Spears released her memoir The Woman in Me, in which she claimed that Timberlake “decided to use me as ammunition for his record,” referring to the 2003 hit single. The book also details past personal issues in their relationship, including an abortion and their split shortly after, which which Timberlake apparently initiated via text message. He also stated that Timberlake's use of Spears in the “Cry Me a River” music video attempted to portray her as “a whore who had broken the heart of America's golden boy.”
But the New York performance, held on Timberlake's birthday with wife Jessica Biel, followed Spears' apology earlier this week for the content of her book. “I want to apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book,” the singer wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “If I offended any of the people I really care about, I'm deeply sorry.” Spears posted the caption under a video of Timberlake The Tonight Show gushed about how much she loves his new single “Selfish.”
Timberlake himself has not publicly responded to Spears' memoir or posts. The last time the musician mentioned their previous relationship was after it aired Framing of Britney Spears, a 2021 documentary about her career and conservatism. Old footage of Timberlake after the breakup appeared in the documentaries, reframing the public's view of him.
“I've seen the messages, tags, comments and concerns and I want to respond,” Timberlake wrote in a lengthy statement shared via Instagram, which has since been removed. “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 the right thing. I understand that I fell behind in these moments and many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”
He added: “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care and respect these women and I know I failed… I also feel compelled to respond, in part, because everyone involved deserves better and the most important. , because this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to participate in and grow.”
“I haven't been perfect at navigating all of that throughout my career. I know this apology is a first step and is not about the past,” Timberlake concluded. “I want to take responsibility for my own mistakes in all of this, as well as be part of an uplifting and supportive world. I care deeply about the well-being of the people I love and have loved. I can do better and I will do better.”
Three years later, he's not so sorry.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/justin-timberlake-cry-me-a-river-britney-spears-jab-1234958844/