Britney Spears goes private on Instagram after slamming Justin Timberlake
Britney Spears went private on Instagram Thursday after taking ex Justin Timberlake to task for rescinding a years-old apology.
Prior to removing public access to her account, the “Stronger” singer, 42, shared an image of a basketball hoop, captioned: “Someone told me someone was talking s–t about me on the streets! Do you want to bring it to the court or will you go home crying to your mom like you did last time?”
“I’m not sorry!!!” she ended the post.
Her conclusion was a nod to the “SexyBack” singer, 43, telling the crowd on Wednesday at his one-night engagement at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza that he wanted to apologize “to absolutely f–king nobody.” He followed the jab with a performance of “Cry Me a River,” his 2002 hit widely believed to be about Spears.
Meanwhile, Spears’ reference to “the court” follows comments she made late last year that not-so-subtly slammed Timberlake’s basketball skills, claiming “he would cry” when she beat him in games.
Timberlake’s dig came on the heels of Spears announcing via Instagram on Sunday that she was “in love” with his new song “Selfish,” and wanted to “apologize for some of the things” she wrote in her memoir, “The Woman in Me.”
“If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about, I am deeply sorry,” she said.
In the book, which hit shelves late October, Spears detailed undergoing an abortion during her relationship with Timberlake, which spanned from 1999 to 2002. She also claimed he cheated on her with an unnamed celebrity and, following their split, did nothing to stop the media from demonizing her.
Back in February 2021, in the wake of multiple documentaries about Spears’ legacy and how she was treated by the media, Timberlake issued a public apology.
“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 up for what was right,” he said at the time. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others, and benefited from a system that condones misogyny. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears … I know I failed.”