Justin Timberlake Is Reportedly Considering a Sit-Down with Oprah Winfrey to Tell His Side of the Britney Spears Story

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 5 February 2024

When a celebrity has something to say, they go one place above all else: Oprah Winfrey. And Page Six reports that’s what Justin Timberlake wants to do to clear up misconceptions and rumors surrounding his former relationship with Britney Spears, specifically the fallout from her revelations in her memoir, The Woman in Me, released last October.

“Justin is really not happy how things have gone down,” a source said, per The Daily Mail. “He wanted [his new] music to speak for itself, but that’s clearly not happening.”

Even after the temperature surrounding Timberlake had cooled following the tell-all’s release four months ago, he found himself in hot water yet again last week, when he introduced a performance of his song “Cry Me a River” (which is about Spears) by saying he needed to apologize to “absolutely f—king nobody.”

“His comments onstage have only added fuel to the fire,” they said. “The idea of a sit-down chat with someone like Oprah Winfrey was floated months ago and is now back on the cards.”

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake — The former couple dated for years in the late 1990s and early 2000s

Two days prior to Timberlake’s onstage comments, Spears apologized to anyone she “offended” with her memoir, in which she wrote extensively about her relationship with Timberlake. “I am deeply sorry,” she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. “I also wanted to say I am in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish.’”

But after she learned of Timberlake’s comments, she was back on Instagram, writing “Someone told me someone was talking s—t 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 alongside a stock image of a basketball hoop.

Justin Timberlake at the 2023 VMAs — Timberlake at the 2023 VMAs

Britney Spears — Spears revealed much that had been previously unknown about her relationship with Timberlake in her memoir, "The Woman in Me"

Timberlake’s new record, Everything I Thought It Was, drops March 15; he’ll go on tour to support the album from April to July. Page Six reports that Timberlake is “seething” over the negative press he’s received a la the Spears feud and is upset that it is “overshadowing his new music”: “Justin had hoped the backlash 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,” they said.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.