Britney Spears fans have put Timbaland under fire after a recent misogynistic comment.
The producer, who is a frequent Justin Timberlake collaborator and has worked with Spears, was dismissive of the “I’m a Slave 4 U” singer during a recent panel interview. “She going crazy, right?” Timbaland asked the reporter when it was noted that JT’s “Cry Me a River” has been back in the headlines amid the release of Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me.
“I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl,’” Timbaland added.
Spears and Timberlake dated 1999 to 2002, and the pop star opened up about various moments in their relationship in her memoir, including an abortion she underwent. In an excerpt originally published by People, Spears said that the pregnancy was a “surprise,” even thought she always “expected” to start a family with Timberlake. “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 wrote, adding, “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”
“After that, I was messed up for a while, especially because I still love Justin so much,” she wrote. “It was insane how much I loved him, and for me, it was unfortunate.”
Of course, following Timbaland’s comments, Spears fans flooded Twitter in defense of the superstar, slamming the producer for misogyny. “Karma will get you @Timbaland,” one fan wrote alongside a photo of Spears holding up her middle finger, while another quipped, “How do I put a muzzle on Timbaland?”
See fan reactions below.