Justin Timberlake breaks silence over Britney Spears claims

Timberlake had a surprising response to the drama surrounding the release of Spears’ tell-all memoir.

Justin Timberlake has appeared to break his silence about Britney Spears’ tell-all memoir after initially refusing to comment on its release.

The NSYNC star performed his hit Cry Me a River, which is reportedly about his relationship with Spears, at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

Justin Timberlake alluded to his feelings toward Spears while performing at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Thursday. Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

According to attendees at the event, Justin alluded to Spears before the song began, appearing to break his silence over the drama surrounding the memoir’s release.

After grabbing the mic, Timberlake told the audience: “No disrespect,” although it’s unclear whether he alluded to not meaning any with the song toward the star, or whether he was telling the crowd to keep it respectful towards his ex-girlfriend.

Regardless, it’s a surprising response from Timberlake, who has in the past made numerous not so pleasant remarks about Spears.

Timberlake and Spears were one of the most high-profile couples in Hollywood when they dated between 1999 and 2002, after first meeting as young kids on The Mickey Mouse Club TV series in 1992

He famously cast a lookalike in the music video for Cry Me a River, which is about finding out that your partner has been unfaithful.

Insiders initially claimed Timberlake was “fuming” over Spears’ memoir, despite the fact the boyband star had used her name multiple times over the years for press, while Spears had shared nothing but kind sentiments.

After their break-up Justin was bluntly asked: “Did you f**k Britney Spears?” during an appearance on radio station Hot 97. The star was all-too-keen to play up the discourse as he gleefully shouted: “OK, I did it!”

The singer was also accused of taking jabs at Spears during his 2007 tour, where he would perform mashups of Cry Me a River with songs like Rehab by Amy Winehouse and Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.

Spears made numerous shocking claims about Timberlake in her new memoir. Photo by TOM MIHALEK / AFP.

In Spears’ memoir, she revealed she had fallen pregnant with Timberlake’s child when they were in their late teens, but had gotten an abortion at his urging.

“It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day,” she wrote. “This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated. But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy.

“He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby. I don’t know if that was the right decision.

She continued: “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”

The Overprotected star added that it was “one of the most agonising things I have ever experienced in my life”.

Originally published as Justin Timberlake breaks silence over Britney Spears claims