What goes around doesn’t always come back around.
Justin Timberlake seemingly took a shot at his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears during his “One Night Only” birthday concert at Irving Plaza in New York City on Wednesday.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely f–king nobody,” the *NSYNC alum told the audience before singing his 2002 hit “Cry Me a River,” which was inspired by the pop star cheating on him during their relationship.
Several people flocked to social media to criticize Timberlake, 43, for shading the “Gimme More” singer, 42, just two days after she publicly praised his new single, “Selfish.”
“What a prick!” one user commented on a clip of the “Mirrors” crooner’s pseudo apology.
“Nooooo he did not traaaassssh,” another wrote.
One viewer commented with several vomiting emojis, while another posted tomato emojis.
Others jumped to Timberlake’s defense, with one even telling the former boy bander, “You don’t have to Justin. She is the bad person and her fans are horrible people!”
Timberlake came under fire in October 2023 after Spears revealed in her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” she had an abortion while they were dating because he “wasn’t happy” about the pregnancy and “didn’t want to be a father.”
The Princess of Pop issued a mea culpa Monday to anyone she “offended” with her bombshell-filled book, writing in a since-deleted Instagram post, “I am deeply sorry.”
She then extended an olive branch to Timberlake specifically, adding, “I also wanted to say I am in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish.’
“It is soo good and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy [Fallon] together I laugh so hard ???”
Spears even complimented another one of her ex’s new songs, writing, “Ps ‘Sanctified’ is wow too.”
The “Crossroads” star unexpectedly showered Timberlake with compliments after her fan base went on a streaming and buying frenzy with her 2011 song “Selfish” to thwart Timberlake’s new single of the same name from topping the charts.
Her tune entered the Top 40 of the US iTunes chart last Thursday and hit No. 1 by Friday as his track fell from the top spot to No. 3.
The music superstars started dating in 1999 and broke up in 2002.
At the time, Timberlake implied Spears had cheated on him, which she neither confirmed nor denied.
However, in her memoir, the “Toxic” singer admitted she had cheated on the “Trolls” star “one time” with dancer and choreographer Wade Robson.
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Timberlake’s treatment of Spears was previously explored in the New York Times’ 2021 documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” prompting the “SexyBack” performer to publicly apologize to his ex.
Later that year, he also supported Spears after she came forward in court about her “abusive” 13-year conservatorship, which was officially terminated that November.
Timberlake married Jessica Biel in 2012, and they share two sons: Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3.
Meanwhile, Spears is currently going through a divorce from Sam Asghari. She shares two sons — Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17 — with her ex-husband Kevin Federline.
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