Timbaland has apologised for saying Justin Timberlake should “muzzle” ex-girlfriend Britney Spears after she wrote a damning depiction of their time together in her new book.
The 51-year-old music producer – real name Timothy Zachery Mosley – found his words circulating online after an appearance at a talk event at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC on October 29.When an audience member mentioned Spears' memoir, The Woman In Me, Timbaland said: “She’s going crazy, right? I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.’”
In the book, Spears revealed that when she was 19 she got pregnant to Timberlake, whom she dated between 1999 and 2002, but that he advised her to get an abortion as he "wasn't ready to be a father".
Timbaland, who has frequently collaborated with Timberlake over the years, suggested that the Toxic hit-maker had detailed these events with the intention to "go viral".
“We live in an age of social media and […] everybody wanna go viral,” he said. “I get it ’cause that’s the way you make money, go viral – I gotta do something that gets people’s attention.”
His remarks sparked outrage amongst Spears' fans, who demanded that he should apologise.
One said: “Imagine in 2023 saying a woman should have a muzzle put on her for speaking her truth, especially after 13 years of abuse and silence.”
Now, during a live stream on TikTok, they have got that apology with Timbaland issuing one “to the Britney fans, and her. You know about respecting women – hell yeah.”
