When you have a lot to share or want to set the record straight, there’s no better interviewer to turn to than Oprah Winfrey. Sitting down with the iconic talk show host means that your story will definitely be heard by a large audience. According to a new report, Justin Timberlake is considering giving a tell-all interview to combat the negative press he’s received following the publication of the memoir of his ex-girlfriend, Britney Spears. With his first album in six years due out in March, the “Selfish” singer seemingly wants to win back fans, but a source claims that he’s been reluctant to open up about their relationship until now.
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According to a report in The Sun (via the Daily Mail), Timberlake wants to schedule a high-profile interview because of how he comes off in Spears’ book. (The pop stars dated over 20 years ago.)
“Justin is really not happy how things have gone down. He wanted the music to speak for itself but that’s clearly not happening,” a source told The Sun. “His comments on stage have only added fuel to the fire. The idea of a sit-down chat with someone like Oprah Winfrey was floated months ago and is now back on the cards. He really doesn’t want to do it but the louder the backlash gets the more he feels he may have to.”
Notably, in her memoir The Woman in Me, Spears claims that she had an abortion during her relationship with Timberlake—which lasted from 1999 to 2002—because he was not ready to be a parent.
“I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,” Spears writes (via People). “But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.” She adds, “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
As reported by Harper’s Bazaar, Spears also claims that Timberlake cheated on her, and she writes that she didn’t like the narrative he spread about their relationship after their split—including in the song and video “Cry Me a River”—which she says made her look like “a harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy.”
The stories in Spears’ book added fuel to the fire, as Timberlake has been criticized in the past by his ex’s fans, including in 2021 amid the release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears. At that time, Timberlake issued a public apology to the “Toxic” singer.
Recently though, Timberlake made a comment during a performance that suggests that apology wasn’t totally sincere. On stage in New York City on Jan. 31, he told the crowd that he’d “like to take this opportunity to apologize—to absolutely [expletive] nobody.” This was widely interpreted to be a dig at Spears, as he launched into “Cry Me a River” right after, according to People. As reported by NBC News, the anti-apology went over especially poorly, because Spears had just posted on social media in support of Timberlake.
“I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book. If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about I am deeply sorry,” Spears wrote in the since-deleted Instagram post. She went on to praise Timberlake’s new song “Selfish,” saying that she is “in love with” it and calling it “soo good.”
After Timberlake’s concert, Spears took her own apology back. “Someone told me someone was talking [expletive] about me on the streets!!! Do you want to bring it to the court or will you go home crying to your mom like you did last time??? I’m not sorry!!!,” she wrote in another Instagram post, per NBC News.
A source recently told Page Six that Timberlake is “seething” over his past with Spears “overshadowing his new music.” The source said, “Justin had hoped the backlash [from Spears’ memoir] would’ve blown over by now so that he could focus on his new album, which he’s very excited about, but every day is something new.”
Best Life has reached out to a representative for Timberlake for comment.