Justin Timberlake's 2007 plea to Britney Spears to 'stop drinking' goes viral after his DWI arrest

SAG HARBOR, LONG ISLAND:  An old clip of Justin Timberlake seemingly advising his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears to "stop drinking" has gone viral after his recent DWI arrest, stirring up a wave of backlash from fans, as reported by The Daily Mail.

Timberlake was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday for DWI after he was spotted drinking at the upscale American Hotel in Sag Harbor. Timberlake left the hotel around 12:30 am after partying with friends and traffic police stopped him soon after for swerving between lanes and running a stop sign.

Timberlake's video, dating back to 2007, shows him accepting a Brit Award and saying, "Stop drinking. You know who you are. I'm speaking to you. Stop drinking, you're going to get sloppy. OK! is going to say something bad about you."

Justin Timberlake's 2007 remarks resurface amid DWI arrest

At the time of these remarks, Spears was under intense media scrutiny and famously shaved her head just two days after the awards ceremony.

Timberlake later clarified in an interview with GQ that his comments were not directed at Spears, stating he was referring to "people in the crowd, no one in particular."

However, many fans believe otherwise, especially in light of his recent legal troubles, as reported by Fox News.

The viral video has rekindled the ire of Spears' fans, who have been vocal in their support for her, especially following the release of her 2023 memoir, 'The Woman In Me.' In the book, Spears made several revelations about her relationship with Timberlake, including an incident where he urged her to have an abortion when she became pregnant in 2000.

Spears also criticized Timberlake's 2002 hit 'Cry Me a River,' which portrayed her as the villain in their breakup.

Fans have not let Timberlake off the hook, even trolling him by sending Spears' 2011 song "Selfish" back up the charts after he released a new single with the same name.

In 'The Woman In Me,' Spears detailed the "agonizing" decision to terminate her pregnancy at Timberlake's urging, describing how she had hoped to start a family with him despite their young age.

She wrote, "It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young."

"I don’t know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father," she added.

According to the book, Spears disclosed that her upbringing, influenced by religious beliefs and her family's teachings, strongly discouraged abortion, reports TMZ. She also accused Timberlake of infidelity during their three-year relationship, though she did not name the person involved, only referring to her as "another celebrity."

Fans proclaim 'Karma' after Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest goes public

Fans took to X to voice their opinions. One user tweeted, "Album flopped. Tour flopped. Karma for Britney and Janet," referring to Timberlake's career and his past controversies involving both Spears and Janet Jackson.

Another user added, "Karma is finally hitting him hard."

Other reactions were equally scathing. One user wrote, "It seems like his character in 'The Social Network' was VERY easy to play for him." 

Another comment read, "He is a mean person. I'll never forgive him for what he did to Britney Spears! Jessica Biel should divorce him..." 

The wave of criticism didn't stop there. One user commented on Timberlake's ability to stay in the spotlight, albeit for the wrong reasons: "This guy knows how to stay relevant, he is in the news every few months."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.