Looking back it all makes sense.
Well, well, well. Here we are again.
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As a Britney Spears fan, I have been following this narrative for a VERY long time and am extremely knowledgeable in the Justin Timberlake media workings.
J. Emilio Flores / Getty Images
Before I go any further, I just want to say, Britney has obviously moved on from this relationship. She is always dancing to Justin Timberlake songs on her Instagram. I just think it’s interesting to see what was really happening when we were growing up in the early 2000s. How things really were.
Without further ado, let’s get right into it.
In 2002, Britney and Justin broke up.
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They dated for approximately three years.
Paul J. Richards / Getty Images
That same year, Justin went solo.
Arnaldo Magnani / Getty Images
Justin was trying to get away from that whole boy band ramen noodle hair thing. He had just broken up with the biggest pop star in the world, and whew boy, was this the PERFECT time for him to go solo.
His first single, “Like I Love You,” wasn’t doing so hot. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, hardly a successful lead single for someone who was part of one the most successful musical acts of the early ’00s.
That’s when it appears a new PR strategy came into play: Let’s talk about Britney Spears.
Luckily for Justin, the media was already on his side. He played his cards right and Britney was labeled the betrayer…
US Weekly
This cover ran on Sept. 2, 2002.
…and he was “solo and sexy.”
US Weekly
This cover came out a week after the one calling Britney the betrayer.
The narrative had been set.
And now it was time to profit.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images
Let the media circus begin.
In the interview, Justin tells Barbara he promised Britney he wouldn’t say why they specifically broke up.
Justin denies that any songs on his album were about her but then plays a song on the piano called “Horrible Woman.”
These are the lyrics: “I thought our love was so strong / I guess I was dead wrong / But to look at it positively, hey girl / At least you gave me another song about a horrible woman.”
Then, like a true class act, when asked if BRITNEY kept her promise to wait to have sex until marriage, Justin says “sure” then bursts out into laughter.
And this was just ONE interview during the time period.
Meanwhile, Britney was berated by Diane Sawyer.
The war was on, but it was clearly an unfair battle to begin with.
In December, after his first single was only a moderate success and failed to have real impact, Justin released his second single, “Cry Me a River,” featuring the infamous Britney lookalike.
On his “Let’s Talk About Britney Press Tour” Justin kept on “denying” the song and video were actually about her. When asked what the music video was about on TRL, Justin said: “The video is not about her. The video is about me.”
Scott Gries / Getty Images
On Ellen, he dodges the “Is it about Britney?” question by literally sipping tea like a true stunt queen.
Then the Details interview.
He tells Sharon Osbourne he just wasn’t impressed with the Britney/Madonna 2003 VMA performance: “It’s not that I was upset with it. I just wasn’t impressed.”
And in an interview with Hot 97, he said, “I did it. I’m dirty” when asked if he had “oral intercourse”* with her.
Vince Bucci / Getty Images
*A question he could have easily avoided.
In 2006, four years after their breakup and when he was dating Cameron Diaz, Justin had a new album to promote, so he employed his foolproof strategy: bring up Britney, again.
Peter Kramer / Getty Images
In an interview with GQ, Justin said: “I felt like she had a couple of opportunities to just sort of stick up for me, and she didn’t. Which is fine. But at that time, you know, I fought back, and that’s the way I fought back. I used my mind. I came up with a song.”
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
He thought Britney should have stuck up for him? Wait, what?
In 2008, we’re now six years after their breakup, Justin inducted Madonna into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and used this opportunity to make a Britney jab.
Then, at a 2013 concert, 11 years after their breakup, he gave some speech where he was like: “Sometimes in life, you think you found the one. Then you find out that she was just a bitch.”
It should be noted that afterwards, Justin denied that the comment was about Britney. He tweeted: “Ok. I see you. Wouldn’t disrespect ANYONE personally. Ever. #Relax #ItsBritneyBitch I do love that saying though *with accent* #Respect.”
Finally, in 2016, 14 years after their breakup, he is still put Britney on subtle blast.
Vanity Fair Italia
When VF Italia asked Justin if he needed to be “depressed or tormented” in order to write a good song, he brought up “Cry Me a River.” He said: “Depends. In the past, suffering has helped me compose songs. ‘Cry Me a River’ was written in a time of pain, like everyone knows…”
In conclusion, there is clearly a way to play the media and Justin’s PR people were very good at it!
Jason Kirk / Getty Images
But this is a bigger problem than Justin Timberlake. It’s a narrative that famous women have always been placed in.
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
In the words of Christina Aguilera:
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