Timbaland has apologized after landing in hot water for joking that Justin Timberlake “should have put a muzzle” on Britney Spears ahead of her recently released memoir.
Titled The Woman in Me, Spears’s book makes numerous revelations about her former relationship with Timberlake that paint him in a negative light. She revealed that she had an abortion, claiming that he was unhappy with the pregnancy and didn’t want to be a father.
Spears also said Timberlake accused her of cheating multiple times and said his 2002 music video for “Cry Me a River” depicted her as a “harlot.”
Timbaland, who co-wrote and co-produced “Cry Me a River,” was asked about the song “making headlines again” during a recent panel at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
“She going crazy, right,” The Hip-Hop super producer said, interrupting the question. “I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.'”
The audience laughed as Timbo continued. “But you know what, we live in an age of social media and viral, everybody wanna go viral,” he added. “I get it, because that’s the way you make money. Go viral. I’ve gotta do something to get people’s attention.”
However, Timbaland faced social media scrutiny once clips of his comments hit social media. He was widely slammed by many who were appalled by his comments in light of Spear’s 13-year conservatorship.
After catching wind of the backlash, Timbaland has apologized to Britney Spears.
“I apologize to the Britney fans and her,” he said during a TikTok live. “Hell yeah,” he added, agreeing with a comment about respecting women.