"THE CLAP BACK": Fans react as Britney Spears deletes apology to Justin Timberlake as feud escalates

Britney Spears has seemingly clapped back at her ex Justin Timberlake after the latter said he wants to apologize to "absolutely f*cking nobody" while onstage at a New York City show on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

Spears had initially apologized on Instagram this Sunday to anyone she had offended in her memoir, The Woman in Me, as per Billboard. Netizens believed the apology was directed at Mirrors hitmaker Justin Timberlake.

Fan talks about Britney's alleged diss at Justin. (Images via Reddit/@Fauxmoi)

Britney, in turn, has deleted her previous apology from her social media. She also allegedly hit back by posting a picture of a basket and the sun as the basketball, with the caption,

"Someone told me someone was talking sh*t about me on the streets !!! Do you want to bring it to the court or will you go home crying to your mom like you did last time ???"

Netizens were quick to share their thoughts on the feud between the renowned former couple.

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Britney Spears seemingly responds to Justin Timberlake’s remark at NYC Show

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake began dating in 1999, and their youthful romance garnered much of the public's attention. The fascination intensified after their spring 2002 breakup. Their most recent feud began with the Britney Army trending her old 2011 Femme Fatale album's song, Selfish, after Justin released his track with the same name.

On January 25, 2024, Justin Timberlake started the promotions for his comeback album Everything I Thought It Was with the lead single Selfish. At one point, Spears’ Selfish reached the top of the U.S. iTunes Chart before going down to second, while Justin's song reached No. 3, as per Billboard.

Spears, however, posted a since-deleted video on her Instagram of Justin singing with The Roots and Jimmy Fallon for his album promotions and wrote,

"I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book. If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about I am deeply sorry. I am so in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish.’ It is soo good and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy together I laugh so hard ???”

This prompted Justin Timberlake to seemingly respond to her apology while performing at his One Night Only birthday concert at Irving Plaza in New York City on Wednesday night. The singer was about to sing Cry Me A River, a song rumored to be about Spears after the two split in 2002, as per The Hollywood Reporter. He shouted to the crowd,

"I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely f*cking nobody."

Britney Spears then reportedly responded by claiming that she heard people insulting her "on the streets." According to Forbes, she directly responded to the person rumored to be her ex, Justin, mocking him for allegedly crying and running off to his mother. It's unclear which instance the pop artist was referring to.

Netizens were quick to applaud Britney Spears for reportedly standing up against Justin. Fans are planning to trend another one of her songs, Liar, on iTunes.

Britney Spears's initial apology was for her mentions of people in her memoir, The Woman In Me, which was released on October 24, 2024. The book led to Justin Timberlake facing particularly harsh criticism for his stance on the alleged abortion. She wrote about the pregnancy news, saying,

"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."

Justin Timberlake has not directly responded to his mentions in Britney's book, as per Page Six.