Britney Spears Claims Justin Timberlake Got 'Power' From 'Shaming' Her

Pop star Britney Spears is sharing a lot of details about Justin Timberlake in her memoir "The Woman In Me."

Although the former couple only dated from 1999 to 2002, their relationship was full of allegations of infidelity and, as her memoir only recently revealed, an unplanned pregnancy. The now 41-year-old pop star reflected a lot on the end of the relationship and said that the "Cry Me A River" found "power" in "shaming" her through his viral hit song.

Britney's bombshell revelations resulted in one Britney fan account digging up a 2006 interview from Justin Timberlake, where he told journalist Robert Haskell, "If I was writing an article about her, I would not be able to fight the urge to write every dirty thing about her." He went on to say, “I dated Britney half my life, but I don’t know that person anymore. I'm not sure I knew her before."

Sources also told Us Weekly that Britney reflects on the treatment she received from the media following their break-up in 2002. In her memoir, Britney wrote that she didn’t think that Justin ever really realized the “power” that he had in “shaming” her for the breakup.

Although she admits losing her virginity at the age of 14 to a childhood friend of her brother, Bryan Spears, she said that her managers had tried to portray her as an “eternal virgin.” However, that image came crashing down when the “Mirrors” singer implied that their relationship had turned sexual.

Britney admitted that she didn’t “handle things well” at the time and even speculated that she might have been the “bad guy” in their relationship. She said that she feels like she’s been put “under a curse” due to her transgressions from that relationship, as her two later marriages to Kevin Federline and Sam Asghari have both ended in divorce.

Justin does not mention the unplanned pregnancy in his 2018 memoir “Hindsight: & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me,” but he did open up on writing “Cry Me A River” in two hours after he felt “scorned” from the break-up with Britney Spears.

“The feelings I had were so strong that I had to write it, and I translated my feelings into a form where people could listen and, hopefully, relate to it,” he wrote. “People heard me and they understood it because we’ve all been there.”

In a 2002 interview with Barbara Walters, “The Social Network” actor also opened up about the split, saying, We’re not perfect. I don’t judge anybody,” before adding, “It’s just young love. It was a very intense relationship, that’s for sure.”

The following year, the "Toxic" singer also opened up on the cheating allegations, saying, “I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I’m not technically saying he’s right either.”

In her memoir, the "Hold Me Closer" singer admits that she did cheat on Justin Timberlake with Wade Robson when the two made out at a Spanish bar at the same time she was dating Justin. However, she said that she told Justin about the infidelity at the time and they “agreed to move past” the infidelity given that she was “loyal to Justin” and “only had eyes for him.”

The "Piece Of Me" singer wrote that Justin had cheated on her “a couple of times” in their relationship, referring to when he was photographed sneaking into his hotel in West London with Nicole Appleton of the British Girl Group All Saints. She also alleges that he bragged about how he “hit that last night” to one of her backup dancers when they were talking about another girl in Las Vegas.

Britney Spears' memoir "The Woman In Me" is scheduled for release on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.