In an excerpt released on Tuesday, the 41-year-old pop star also addresses the controversial conservatorship that barred her from handling her own life and finances for 14 years.
“If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it,” she writes of the abortion, in an excerpt published by People magazine on Tuesday.
“And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
In the book, Spears describes meeting Timberlake when they were both children performing in Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club.
They later began dating in their late teens, becoming one of the entertainment industry’s highest-profile couples, before splitting in 2002.
According to the memoir, Timberlake “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 writes.
She adds, “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”
Her shocking revelations in the book had fans rallying up to express their support for her. Many on social media also seemed convinced that the singer’s emotional ballad, ‘Everytime’, originally thought to be about her romance with Justin, was actually Britney, “singing her heart out to her aborted baby.”
Britney Spears – Everytime (Official HD Video)
Taking to their handles, several social media users got emotional sharing the song which has the lyrics, ‘And every time I see you in my dreams/ I see your face, you’re haunting me/ I guess I need you, baby.’
“The HORRIBLE news about Britney’s abortion bc of Justin Timberlake just took Everytime music video to a whole new view. She deserved better,” a fan tweeted.
Another wrote, “oh so britney spears’ everytime wasn’t about justin timberlake but it was about the baby?!”
Another wrote, “Now the clip and the song make perfect sense, while Britney was doing “everytime”, Justin was releasing “Cry Me a River” and defaming Britney in the media, Britney deserves the world!!”
In the track, Britney also pleads for forgiveness with the lyrics, ‘Please forgive me/ My weakness caused you pain/ And this song’s my sorry.’
At the time, many assumed that it was Britney’s apology to Justin for allegedly cheating on him. Rumours about the singer cheating on Timberlake spread like wildfire after he released the song ‘Cry Me a River’, in which he implied Britney had been unfaithful to him in their relationship. He also used a lookalike of the singer in the video.
Angry fans took to their handles to slam Justin for his loose comments about the singer over the years. “Wait so let me get this straight.. Justin Timberlake went on a press tour dragging Britney’s name through the mud and BRAGGING about taking her virginity and Britney was carrying his BABY?” a fan asked.
Another said, “You can dismiss Britney Spears saying that Justin Timberlake pressured her into an abortion as silly gossip, but then add that to objectification (bragging publicly about taking her virginity) and then slut shaming (Cry Me a River) to sell an album. UGH.”
“Justin Timberlake releasing “Cry me a River” while Britney was grieving the loss of the baby he forced her to abort is really sick if you think about it. And then putting her lookalike in the video?” commented another.
Timberlake and Spears, who met as young cast members on television’s “The Mickey Mouse Club,” dated for about three years in their late teens and early 20s, becoming tabloid sensations, before splitting abruptly in 2002. Spears was questioned relentlessly in the media about her virginity, while Timberlake said he had slept with her.
In 2021, following a TV documentary about Spears that included a segment on how she was shamed in the media when their relationship ended, Timberlake publicly apologized to Spears on social media, saying he had “failed” her.
Britney Spears opens up about restrictive conservatorship where her dad Jamie took over her career
