'No disrespect': Britney Spears claps back at Justin Timberlake after his 'Cry Me a River' shade at Las Vegas show

Britney Spears has claimed that 'someone' would 'cry' if they lost a basketball match and then echoed the disclaimer 'no disrespect'
PUBLISHED DEC 16, 2023
Britney Spears has seemingly responded to Justin Timberlake's disclaimer before 'Cry Me a River' performance in Las Vegas (Getty Images)
Britney Spears has seemingly responded to Justin Timberlake's disclaimer before 'Cry Me a River' performance in Las Vegas (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Pop sensation Britney Spears has claimed in her memoir, 'The Woman In Me', that she has "moved on" from the experiences she wrote about, but it seems that she and her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake might not have laid the past to rest.

Though the book was out in October, Timberlake did not address it until mid-December, when he sang their breakup song, 'Cry Me A River' at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Wednesday, December 13, and declared, "No disrespect."

Taking to Instagram to seemingly shade Timberlake, Spears wrote the following day that there was once someone who used to cry when she beat him at basketball - but "no disrespect."



 

Britney Spears appears to shade Justin Timberlake

According to earlier reports, Timberlake wished to avoid "getting in the way" of Spears' chance to eventually share her tale by keeping quiet about the allegations.

Even though Spears recently admitted that the 2002 'Cry Me a River' song, "shattered" her heart, the former NSYNC frontman nonetheless shocked audiences by belting out the ballad about an unfaithful lover.

Timberlake acknowledged the contentious decision to include the song in his set list at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, but he began his performance by stating he meant "no disrespect," apparently referring to Spears.

The 'Gimme More' singer appeared to regurgitate Timberlake's remarks, writing "no disrespect" along with the disparaging statements about his basketball prowess in a message that followed a brief clip from her unreleased 2016 'Make Me' music video.

Spears, 42, wrote on Instagram: "Oh Jesus Christ, the stories… I could tell on the set of this one☝🏻!!! There’s always more to the story and that’s not even half of it !!! It was shot in Arizona 120 degree heat 🥵 … 2 different version videos were shot for this song … most boys say “OH I’M SHOOK” !!! Psss I never mentioned how I beat him in basketball 🏀 and he would cry … no disrespect 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ !!!"

Although Spears did not specifically mention Timberlake, 42, the songstress concluded her lengthy post with the words "no disrespect," which appeared to be a direct response to Timberlake's Vegas performance.


 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Maria River Red (@britneyspears)


 

Britney Spears earlier shared pictures of her and Justin Timberlake

Spears posted a picture of herself and Timberlake on Instagram on January 17, with their matching basketball outfits. Spears wrote the caption in the now-deleted post: "When we used to shoot hoops TOGETHER … that's when miracles happened!!!"

"I came out of my mom's stomach just like we all did!!!" she continued. "Psss … why always cast me out ??? I'm equal as all!!!" per The Blast.



 

'Britney has moved on'

The singers were the "it" pair in Hollywood from 1999 to 2002. Their breakup coincided with the release of 'Cry Me a River' and its music video, which featured a Spears lookalike being unfaithful.

Spears recently released a memoir where she talked about how she felt helpless after her former boyfriend released his single, effectively advancing his story of being the one who was wronged in their breakup.

In her memoir, Spears had previously stated that the song made her appear like a "harlot who’d broken the heart of America's golden boy."

She also chided him for not disclosing his infidelity while using the song to support the narrative that her adultery ended their relationship.

An insider told Daily Mail that Spears "appreciates" that her ex-boyfriend acknowledged the criticism around the Grammy-winning song, but she has not heard from him personally yet.

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears at the
Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears dated from 1999 to 2002 (Getty Images)

"The disrespect to Britney was done a long time ago and although she appreciates his acknowledgment of it, Justin has never called her personally or reached out to her personally to apologize," the insider said.

The insider added, "He has never addressed this with her. Ever. Britney has moved on from this and writing her book allowed her to release it. She's good."

Although Timberlake has not publicly responded to the 'Gimme More' hitmaker's allegations, he did disable his Instagram comments after several hateful comments appeared on his posts after the memoir was released.

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