Justin Timberlake is apparently well aware of what Britney Spears said in her memoir, The Woman in Me.
A clip from JT’s performance at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Wednesday night shows him commenting “no disrespect” before launching into a rendition of his hit song “Cry Me a River” that included a few modified lines from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
“Ain’t we all just entertainers? Think I’m stupid and contagious?” the 42-year-old sang.
Rolling Stone reports it was the first time he's performed the track since The Woman in Me was published.
The remark seems aimed at Spears, who, in her book, criticized the song for speaking on their relationship. Timberlake crafted “Cry Me a River” following his breakup with Britney in 2002, where he suggested she was unfaithful and even cast someone in the music video who resembled the “Baby One More Time” singer.
Spears was open about what she endured in her relationship with Justin, including having an abortion, which was done at home to keep it away from the press. She also claimed that they both cheated on one another.
In The Woman in Me, Spears admitted to having an affair with dancer and choreographer Wade Robson, but that she was “loyal to Justin” throughout the rest of their relationship “with that one exception.” They “agreed to move past” her indiscretion, but she then alleged that he cheated on her as well. Though she didn’t name the person, she said it was “another celebrity”—and fans later surmised that it was All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, who was seen with Timberlake in the back of a car in 2000.
