Just when you thought you'd heard it all about Justin Timberlake, here comes Britney Spears with more throwback tea.
On Friday, the "Toxic" singer alluded to breaking Timberlake's ankles on the court, although she didn't mention him by name. "I never mentioned how I beat him in basketball and he would cry ... no disrespect," she wrote on Instagram undearneath a post about their "Cry Me a River" video shoot.
During a Las Vegas performance on Wednesday night, Timberlake gave a subtle reference to Spears and her best-selling memoir, The Woman in Me, which sold 1.1 million copies in its first week when it was released in October. According to TMZ, the 10-time Grammy Award-winner said was performing at Fontainebleau Las Vegas when he said "no disrespect" before beginning "Cry Me a River."
The 2002 song, produced by Timbaland, was based on his previous relationship with Spears, where he alleged that she cheated. Timberlake even went as far as to feature a lookalike of the singer in the "Cry Me a River" music video.
"'Cry Me a River' did very well," Spears wrote in her memoir. "Everyone felt very sorry for him. And it shamed me. I felt there was no way at the time to tell my side of the story. 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."
The passage was one of multiple claims against Timberlake in Spears' book, where she also alleged that he had a cringy run-in with Ginuwine and even forced her to get an abortion. Timberlake's longtime friend and producer Timbaland scolded Spears for writing the book during an event in November, where he warned Timberlake to put a "muzzle" on Spears. The producer later extended an apology to Spears and her fans, reflecting that the comment "wasn't a joke."
