Justin Timberlake slammed for 'shading' Britney Spears over memoir before 'Cry Me a River' performance

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Saying 'Bye Bye Bye' to the drama, Justin Timberlake warned fans ahead of his performance of 'Cry Me a River', which is allegedly about his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Wednesday, December 13.

"No disrespect," he declared to the gathered audience, which included his 41-year-old wife, Jessica Biel, before launching into the song, which his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears criticized in her memoir 'The Woman in Me'.

Internet users slammed Timberlake, following the act. The 42-year-old dated Spears from 1999 to 2002 and released the song the same year they broke up.

Internet users slammed Justin Timberlake for hinting at Britney Spears backlash

Social media users reacted quickly following Timberlake's apparent hint at Spears' memoir backlash during his Las Vegas performance.

One such user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "See? He still thinks it’s a joke. THATS the problem. He’s literally learned nothing from all this."

Another user added, "Interesting choice of song after a memoir like that, don't you think? Maybe it's not a jab, but it's hard not to see it as one. Only Justin knows the truth!"

"He could have chosen not to sing the song. Choices matter," chimed in another X user.

One user snarked, "Why cant he sing what goes around comes around? Because that song is for him.... Karma."

"Followed by "my team told me not to perform this, but fk it" He did it for the headlines because nobody would care otherwise," noted another one.

Another one wrote, "This only continues to prove that his reputation is continuing to go in the opposite direction."

'Cry Me a River' includes lyrics about infidelity

Timberlake's song 'Cry Me a River' is the second single from his debut solo album 'Justified'. It encompasses lyrics about infidelity, and the music video for the song portrays a woman who remarkably resembles Spears.

The 'Sexy Back' hitmaker sings, "You don’t have to say, what you did / I already know, I found out from him," in 'Cry Me a River'.

Spears, 42, admitted cheating on Timberlake "one time" with choreographer Wade Robson in her shocking memoir, 'The Woman in Me'.

She said in her memoir that after spending years being "loyal to Justin" and only having "eyes for him," Timberlake reportedly agreed to move past the affair.

In his 2018 book 'Hindsight', Timberlake revealed that he created the song in two hours due to his "strong" emotions at the time, as per Page Six.

However, Spears acknowledged that her former partner's number-one hit song painted her as a "harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy" after the couple called it quits.

Telling his side of the story, Timberlake wrote at the time, "I've been scorned. I've been pissed off. That feeling inspired me to write 'Cry Me a River'."

Following criticism from fans, Timberlake issued a public apology for his treatment of Spears in February 2021.

Spears further claimed that Timberlake had an affair with "another celebrity," the identity of whom she kept a secret.

Timberlake is gradually brushing off his detractors and regaining prominence, though his Instagram comments are still partially disabled to ward off the naysayers.

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