Timbaland has issued an apology for calling for Justin Timberlake to “muzzle” Britney Spears.
The music producer’s comments came in the wake of the release of Spears’ autobiography The Woman In Me, which detailed her much publicized relationship with Timberlake in the early ’00s.
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Timbaland made the comments over a week ago during a discussion with 9th Wonder at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., but they only began gaining traction online in recent days.
After a fan in attendance mentioned Spears’ memoir, Timbaland commented: “She’s going crazy, right? I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.’”
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The comments received fierce backlash online from Spears’ fans, with some threatening to boycott Timbaland’s music which includes several Timberlake songs.
The hitmaker apologized to Britney Spears and her fans on TikTok Live on Tuesday (November 7), admitting that his remarks were out of line.
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“To all the Britney fans: you right, I’m wrong,” he said. “Muzzle? You know, it’s just certain words that don’t — like, she’s not no dog. What the frig am I saying? […] That’s kinda fucked up.”
The Virginia native clarified that he meant it as a “joke” and said he’s sensitive to language that may “trigger” people who suffer from mental health issues.
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“I was wrong. You know how you get too comfortable and just ramble out the mouth, don’t know what you talking about?” he added. “But at the end of the day, it’s none of my business.
“I hate when I get caught slipping, too. Nobody’s perfect, but I don’t like to be in the blogs like that.”
Timbaland has apologized to Britney on Tik Tok Live after previously claiming JT should have muzzled her for speaking her truth. Do we accept his apology? pic.twitter.com/a4GhM0EMLg
— Lou M. Taylor Is A Con Artist (@lootmtaylor) November 8, 2023
Some Spears fans did not accept the sincerity of the apology, with one commenting: “This [is] like when you get in trouble as a kid and your parent forces you to apologize so you say ‘I’m sorry’ with an attitude and don’t mean it at all but think it’s enough to get you off the hook.”
Another referenced Timbaland’s own hit collaboration with OneRepublic: “Dear Timbaland I speak for all the Britney Army when I say ‘it’s too late to apologize.’”
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Britney Spears’ memoir made a number of claims about Justin Timberlake, including that he was unhappy about her becoming pregnant and that he once adopted a Black accent when bumping into Ginuwine.
She also claimed that the video for Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” (which was produced by Timbaland) cast her as a “harlot” for cheating on the former *NSYNC member.
The book revealed that Timberlake had ended their relationship over text message and that they had both cheated on each other.
Timberlake has yet to comment on the revelations from The Woman In Me or Timbaland’s remarks.
Timbaland and Justin Timberlake have had a long and successful creative relationship, starting in 2002 with “Cry Me a River” and three other songs from Timberlake’s Justified album.
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They have worked with each other on every one of Timberlake’s five solo albums and also on Timbaland’s solo projects.
