Justin Timberlake is receiving some grace after the memoir of his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears produced a litany of unfavourable claims against him.
Among other reasons, Timberlake went viral earlier this year when the audiobook version of Spears’ memoir saw actor Michelle Williams recreate an exaggerated voice Timberlake allegedly used when meeting singer Ginuwine, who is Black.
In addition to claims that Timberlake cheated on Spears and urged her to get an abortion, Spears writes that Timberlake “tried too hard to fit in” with the Black entertainers in his orbit. One of those instances allegedly involved the “Pony” singer in New York City.
“One day J and I were in New York, going to parts of town I’d never been to before,” Williams read from Spears’ memoir, “The Woman in Me.” “Walking our way was a guy with a huge, blinged-out medallion. He was flanked by two giant security guards.”
“J got all excited and said so loud: ‘Oh yeah, fo’ shiz fo’ shiz, Ginuwine, what’s up homie?’” she continued in Timberlake’s purported African American Vernacular English accent, which inspired mockery online when the audiobook was released in October.
Sources told “Entertainment Tonight” at the time that Timberlake was “focusing on his own family and trying not to concern himself with Britney’s memoir.” Now, Ginuwine has finally heard about the moment going viral — and says Timberlake is “cool.”
“Nah, I don’t remember that,” the singer told Billboard through laughter in an interview Thursday.
“I would have probably looked at him very weird if he did that like she said,” continued Ginuwine, whose real name is Elgin Lumpkin. “I just don’t remember that, but I remember him being a cool dude and me kicking it down there in Florida with [*NSYNC’s] producer at one time.”
In 2002, Timberlake famously broke up with Spears after three years together, and released his debut solo album. Spears wrote in her memoir that his most controversial single, “Cry Me a River,” portrayed her like a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy.”
Timbaland, who produced the song, recently apologised for saying Timberlake should’ve put a “muzzle” on her. Spears endured a 13-year conservatorship under the purview of her father, but saw it terminated in 2021 amid an impassioned “#FreeBritney” campaign on social media.