Did Britney Just Apologise To Justin For What She Said In Her Memoir?

Britney Spears appears to have apologised to her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake for the comments she made about him in her memoir, The Woman In Me, which was released last year and promptly became the highest-selling celebrity memoir in history upon the day of its release.

The book was packed full of revelations, most tellingly about Timberlake and the court-ordered conservatorship she was finally released from in November 2021, which had been in place for over 13 years.

Spears writes in the book that she became pregnant with Timberlake’s baby at the age of 19 — but had an abortion.

‘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. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,’ Spears writes of the pregnancy in the book. ‘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.’

She continues: ‘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.

‘To this day, it’s one of the most agonising things I have ever experienced in my life.’

On Monday, Spears posted a clip of Timberlake singing his songs with Jimmy Fallon on NBC's Saturday Night Live programme.

And alongside the Instagram post, she wrote: 'I wanna apologise for some of the things I wrote about in my book.'

Spears wrote: 'If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about, I am deeply sorry.

'I also wanted to say I am in love with Justin Timberlake's new song, 'Selfish'.

'It is so good - and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy together, I laugh so hard?'

Fans of the first iteration of The Woman In Me, can now rejoice - Spears has confirmed that a second volume will be released in 2024. Taking to Instagram, Spears re-posted a video of a conductor swinging a Mahler hammer during a performance of the composer's sixth symphony.

'Humour is the cure to everything !!!' she gushed in her caption. 'Play on !!! Volume 2 will be released next year … get ready !!!'

It's not just a second iteration of the memoir which could debut this year. According to Deadline, major film and TV studios are 'circling' the memoir and have already placed bids for the rights to it - mere weeks after the book's release.

According to The Ankler, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Shonda Rhimes are among the producers set to bid somewhere in the 'mid-eight figures' range for the rights. The publication has also reported that Spears has scheduled at least one meeting with a 'top producer' in the past several months.

In The Woman In Me, Spears calls her former partner, Sam Asghari, 'a gift from God' who gave her the strength to speak openly about the 'abusive' conservatorship.

'I have an appreciation for how stable he is. I love that he doesn't even drink,' Spears writes of Asghari, who she met in October 2016 while shooting the music video for her hit track, Slumber Party. 'The chemistry with us in the beginning was insane. We couldn't keep our hands off each other.'

In response to Spears' kind words about her ex, Asghari said that it 'made him smile' to read what she'd written about him. Speaking to TMZ, Asghari said he's 'freaking proud' of his former partner for putting herself out there in her memoir, adding 'I hope she takes over the world.'

Spears also writes in the memoir about how, in 2018, she had been pushing back against her conservatorship but had to endure further mental health evaluations and a stint in rehab.

'My father said that if I didn’t go, then I’d have to go to court, and I’d be embarrassed,' Spears writes, claiming that he’d make her look like an 'idiot' if she didn't comply. Spears was then sent to Beverly Hills facility, where she was prescribed lithium and was only granted an hour of television before her 9pm bedtime.

'They kept me locked up against my will for months,' the performer writes. 'I couldn’t go outside. I couldn’t drive a car. I had to give blood weekly. I couldn’t take a bath in private. I couldn’t shut the door to my room.'

Britney Spears writes in The Woman In Me that she was ’scared’ during her 2001 VMAs performance.

It was at this facility in 2018 that Spears first learned of the #FreeBritney movement, which was gaining momentum amongst her fans. A nurse showed the Toxic star videos her fans were making. 'That was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen in my life,' Spears writes. 'I don’t think people knew how much the #FreeBritney movement meant to me, especially in the beginning.'

According to US Weekly, Spears is ‘excited but nervous’ for the release of her book, while another added that ‘It’s not Britney’s intention to skewer anyone.’

Spears dated Timberlake, whom she met while working together on The Mickey Mouse Club, from 1999 to 2002. In the New York Times' explosive documentary series, Framing Britney Spears, which was released in 2021, it was suggested that Timberlake pedaled a negative narrative about Spears in the press after claims that her alleged infidelity lead to the demise of their relationship.

Elsewhere in the book, Spears admits what led to her shaving her head in 2007 in a very public breakdown. ‘I’d been eyeballed so much growing up,’ Spears writes. ‘I’d been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager. Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back.’

The cover for Britney Spears’ memoir ’The Woman In Me’.

A press release for Spears' long-awaited memoir, which was snapped up for a reported $15million deal by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, promises to reveal 'for the first time her incredible journey (and) strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history'.

The memoir ‘illuminates the enduring power of music and love — and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms.’ The release states that Woman in Me is ‘a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.’

According to DeuxMoi, publication on the memoir were halted last year after two celebrities who are mentioned in the book pursued legal action against the publisher to cease publication of any potentially defamatory claims. Spears has also reportedly snubbed invitations to take part in tell-all interviews in order to be able to tell her story in her own words.

On the book’s webpage, Gallery Books writes, 'In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. Written with remarkable candour and humour, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.'

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Naomi May

Acting News Editor

Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.