Timbaland has apologised after suggesting that Justin Timberlake “should have put a muzzle” on Britney Spears.
The record producer was speaking to fellow producer 9th Wonder in a live broadcast from Washington DC’s Kennedy Center at the end of last month when he made the comments in light of Spears’ new memoir.
In an excerpt from The Woman In Me, Spears writes that Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me a River’ music video positioned her as the villain in the breakdown of their romantic relationship.
The story in the video seemingly confirmed a rumour in the media that Spears had cheated on Timberlake – but Spears has claimed in her memoir that he was the first to cheat.
When taking a question from an audience member about the renewed interest in ‘Cry Me a River’ following the release of Spears’ memoir, Timbaland said: “She goin’ crazy, right? I wanted to call JT, ‘Man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.’”
Timbaland – who co-wrote and co-produced ‘Cry Me a River’ and also sings the bridge and appears in the music video – was met with backlash online for his comments.
Timbaland apologizes to Britney and her fans tonight on TikTok 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/a53tnAteJ5
— DéJà Clift (@DeJa_Clift) November 8, 2023
He later took to TikTok to say sorry. “I apologise to the Britney fans and her,” he said, reading a comment asking about his attitude towards women. “Yes, ‘You know about respecting women?’ Hell yeah.”
In her memoir Spears describes the ‘Cry Me A River’ video as “a woman who looks like me cheats on him and he wanders around sad in the rain”.
She adds that the media saw her as a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy” when in reality she was “comatose in Louisiana” trying to mend her broken heart while Timberlake was “happily running around Hollywood”.
Meanwhile, in September Timbaland and Timberlake reunited with Nelly Furtado for a new song called ‘Keep Going Up’. It marked 16 years since the trio worked together on their hit collaboration, ‘Give It To Me’.
Timbaland, who produced Timberlake’s 2006 album ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’ and 2013’s ‘The 20/20 Experience‘, confirmed in April that Timberlake has finished his next album.