In the wake of a famous woman releasing a best-selling memoir to finally share her story after being silenced and controlled by her family for more than a decade, it is neither kind nor wise to suggest that she needs to be muzzled. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Timbaland—acclaimed producer and collaborator of Justin Timberlake—did. During a Q&A at the Kennedy Center, Timbaland responded to a question about the song “Cry Me A River” after Britney Spears wrote about it in her book The Woman In Me. “She goin’ crazy, right? I wanted to call JT, ‘Man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl,’” he said (via Variety).
Spears fans are historically protective of the singer, so Timbaland faced quick and widespread condemnation for his misogynistic remark. Shortly after the backlash began, Timbaland held a livestream on TikTok where he (sort of) walked back the comment. “I apologize to the Britney fans and her,” he said. Reading a fan’s comment as it appeared onscreen, he added, “Yes, ‘you know about respecting women?’ Hell yeah.”
Real convincing, Timbaland! The Grammy winner worked on “Cry Me A River” with Timberlake, which helped launch the ex-boybander’s solo career. In her memoir, Spears recalled the attention surrounding the song’s music video, which was about “a woman who looks like me” that “cheats on him and he wanders around sad in the rain.” She felt the video turned her into a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy” in the eyes of the public, despite the fact that she was “comatose in Louisiana” while Timberlake was “happily running around Hollywood” after their breakup.
The “Cry Me A River” episode was not the only part of Spears’ memoir that drew attention to Timberlake. She also detailed the abortion she got at his behest, and wrote about how Timberlake and *NYSNC “tried too hard” to fit in with Black artists. A clip from the audiobook, narrated by Michelle Williams, went viral for the ridiculous retelling of Timberlake encountering Ginuwine on the street and greeting him, “Oh yeahhh, fo-shiz fo-shiz, Genuwiiine, what’s up homie!’”
Timberlake hasn’t made any public statement himself on the memoir, though “inside sources” for Entertainment Tonight claimed that he’s “tried to be supportive of Britney from a distance,” and that he and his wife Jessica Biel “just want everyone to grow and evolve instead of continuing to bring up the past.”
That’s apparently what Spears wants as well. After the release of the book, she posted a statement on Twitter/X saying that its purpose “was not to offend anyone by any means !!!” She noted that most of the events were “from 20 years ago … I have moved on and it’s a beautiful clean slate from here !!!” The memoir was not meant “to harp on my past experiences” but to give her “closure on all things for a better future.” That said, she did later tease that “Volume 2 will be released next year,” so some more closure may still be on the menu.
