Apparently he would cry a river.
Britney Spears threw some serious shade at ex Justin Timberlake on Friday, less than 48 hours after the 42-year-old singer performed “Cry Me A River” during his set at the opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Wednesday evening.
Before he began the 2002 breakup ballad rumored to be about his former flame’s suspected infidelity, Timberlake seemingly cautioned the crowd and gave a small disclaimer.
“No disrespect,” he shouted at an audience that included his wife, 41-year-old Jessica Biel.
The “Gimme More” singer seemingly echoed Timberlake’s remarks on Instagram and wrote “no disrespect” after belittling his basketball skills in a caption that accompanied a short clip from her never-released 2016 “Make Me” music video.
“Oh Jesus Christ, the stories… I could tell on the set of this one☝🏻!!!” Spears wrote. “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 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ !!!”
Spears, 42, slammed the song from Timberlake’s debut solo album, “Justified,” in her blockbuster memoir, “The Woman in Me.”
“I felt there was no way at the time to tell my side of the story,” Spears wrote in her memoir. “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 and Timberlake met on the set of Disney show “The Mickey Mouse Club” when they were tweens, dating for two years before breaking up in March 2022.
Spears seemingly confesses in her memoir to having an affair with dancer Wade Robson while she was still with the “SexyBack” singer.
In his 2018 book “Hindsight,” Timberlake wrote that his “strong” feelings about the breakup inspired him to write “Cry Me A River” in just two hours. He later shot a video for the song with a Spears doppelgänger.
“I’ve been scorned,” he wrote in the New York Times best seller of the emotions that went into the song. “I’ve been pissed off. That feeling inspired me to write ‘Cry Me a River.’”
Timberlake issued a public apology to Spears in February 2021 after the release of “Framing Britney Spears,” an unauthorized New York Times documentary that explored his relationship with Spears and the backlash Janet Jackson faced after “Nipplegate” erupted at the 2004 Super Bowl.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others,” he wrote on Instagram. “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”