Justin Timberlake is not shading ex-girlfriend Britney Spears by singing “Cry Me a River.”
When taking the stage on Wednesday, December 13, to celebrate the opening night of the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Timberlake, 42, declared “no disrespect” before performing the 2002 tune.
He appeared to be referencing Spears, 42, who called out the song in her memoir, The Woman in Me, which was released in October.
In her book, the singer discussed her past relationship with Timberlake — the two dated from 1999 to 2002 — at length. Spears claimed that they cheated on each other throughout their romance. After their split, Timberlake seemingly alluded to infidelity by Spears in “Cry Me a River.” When the song’s music video was released, fans were quick to notice that the actress hired to play Timberlake’s love interest resembled Spears.
“I felt there was no way at the time to tell my side of the story,” Spears wrote of the song. “I couldn’t explain, because I knew no one would take my side once Justin had convinced the world of his version. I don’t think Justin realized the power he had in shaming me. I don’t think he understands to this day.”
Spears also addressed their split in The Woman in Me, claiming that Timberlake broke up with her in a text message. She wrote that she felt like a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy,” noting she was “clinically in shock” and “devastated” after the split.
“I was comatose in Louisiana, and he was happily running around Hollywood,” Spears wrote. (Elsewhere in the memoir, Spears revealed that she had an abortion after finding out she was pregnant with Timberlake’s baby.)
After The Woman in Me hit shelves, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that Timberlake was “disappointed” with the content in Spears’ memoir.
“Justin thought Britney might talk about their ups and downs in more general terms — not air out their very personal, dirty laundry,” one source shared in October. A second insider noted that Timberlake “regrets that he hurt Britney” all those years ago.
“He was young,” the second source added. “He thinks Britney has every right to tell her story and hopes they can move on now.”
Timberlake, for his part, addressed his release of “Cry Me a River” in his 2018 book, Hindsight.
“I’ve been scorned. I’ve been pissed off. The feelings I had were so strong, I had to write it,” he wrote. “I translated my feelings into a form where people could listen and hopefully relate to it. People heard me and they understood it because we’ve all been there.”
