iHeartRadio

Timbaland Apologizes For "Muzzle" Comment About Britney Spears


Timbalake

Timbaland has apologized for recent comments he made about Britney Spears in the wake of her best-selling memoir, The Woman In Me.

During a live Q&A with producer 9th Wonder at the Kennedy Center last month, Timbaland was asked about renewed interest in "Cry Me A River," the song he released with Justin Timberlake that is widely rumoured to be about Spears. 

“She going crazy, right?” Timbaland replied to the fan question. “I wanted to call JT, [and say] ‘Man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl. But you know what? We live in an age of social media and everybody wanna go viral. I get it, because that’s the way you make money. Go viral.”

After the clip went viral this past week, a strong backlash against the rapper/producer grew, forcing him to post an apology on TikTok.

“I’m sorry to all the Britney fans, even to her,” Timbaland said in the video. “I’m sorry, because muzzle was—no, you have a voice. You speak what you want to speak. Who am I to tell you what not to speak? And I was wrong for saying that. I was looking at it from a different lens and what I am is a reconcile person. I’m not a person who takes sides… I apologize to the Britney fans and her.”

He then responded to a comment about respecting women, to which he added, “‘You know about respecting women?’ Hell yeah.”

Spears' relationship with Timberlake has been a widely-discussed focal point of The Woman In Me. She writes about how she was depicted as a villain in "Cry Me A River," making her feel like a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy.” She also revealed that Timberlake encouraged her to terminate a pregnancy.

Timbaland is also discussed in the book with Spears writing, “He started being very standoffish with me. I think that was because he’d decided to use me as ammunition for his record, and so it made it awkward for him to be around me starting at him with all that affection and devotio .” 

Back in 2007, just as Spears experienced a mental health crisis, Timbaland called her out for refusing to work with him and TImberlake. In an interview with MTV News, he said, "She should, humbly humble herself. And make a phone call and say I'm sorry. That's it. [She got] so big-headed and [was] like, 'Screw you, screw you, I don't need nobody,' "

 

Artist Radio

Listen to music from Britney Spears

12