"It's Karma for Britney." Everyone Remembers the Main Scandals in Justin Timberlake's Life

"It's karma" is how many react to Justin Timberlake's arrest for drunk driving. When it became known about his problems with alcohol, the singer was remembered how he gave advice on this matter to his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears and, in general, all his unseemly actions. Spltnk also decided to refresh his memory and talks about other high-profile stories involving the singer.

The recent arrest of Justin Timberlake has stirred the public. Of course, because in the eyes of the public throughout his career, he was always more of a positive character rather than an anti-hero. A talented teenager from the "Mickey Mouse Club", the lead singer of the mega-popular N' Sync, the devoted boyfriend of the "unlucky" Britney Spears, then the loving husband of Jessica Biel... However, this is an illusion, because if you remember all the, to put it mildly, awkward moments in Justin's biography, it turns out that Even seemingly much more “problematic” stars cannot compare with him in the number of scandals.

Now, when a mugshot of Timberlake arrested for drunk driving has spread across all the media and social networks, the public is reminding him, for example, of the moment when in 2007 he addressed Britney with moralizing in front of the whole world. Then, accepting the Brit Awards, the musician, without naming names, launched into a lengthy discussion and called for "giving up alcohol." Of course, everyone thought that he was talking about Britney Spears, because at that time she was going through a mental crisis - just a couple of days after Justin's speech, she shaved her head, and the scandal reached a new level.

Recently, a 2001 Budweiser commercial about responsible drinking also surfaced on social media. Justin just starred in it along with other members of N'Sync. In the video, the group appears on the doorstep of the teenage girl's father and thanks him for talking to children about the dangers of alcohol. For more than 20 years, almost no one remembered this video, but after Timberlake’s arrest it went viral again on the Internet: people advise the artist to follow his own advice and talk about karma.

Britney Spears' Toxic Boyfriend

Justin dated his Mickey Mouse Club co-star Britney Spears from 1999 to 2002. Both were already incredibly popular, and together they became teen idols around the world. Many thought they were the perfect couple, and their joint appearances on the red carpet eventually became part of pop culture history. The breakup, however, was ugly: Justin hinted that Britney had cheated on him, which spoiled the star's image at the time. However, Britney literally "went off the rails" after that, so no one was surprised by her behavior.

Soon after the end of the novel, it became clear that everything between him and Justin was not as fabulous as it seemed. And when Spears released her memoirs a year ago, even more ugly details were revealed: for example, Britney said that it was Justin who pushed her to have an abortion. As Britney said, her boyfriend was not at all happy about her unexpected pregnancy, because he believed that both were too young to have a child. The singer herself, according to her, would have made a different decision, because she loved Justin and wanted children from him. She still doubts the correctness of her action.

Another confession from Britney’s book also caused anger among fans: Justin informed her about the breakup not in person, but in a text message that Britney received while she was filming the video. The star described her condition in two words: “shock” and “devastation.” The director of that video confirmed that he saw Justin's message, and it only contained two words: "It's over." Later, Timberlake finally explained himself by writing a long letter to the singer, which for some reason he framed and brought to her personally. Spears was depressed for several months due to the breakup.

Cry Me a River and "double Britney"

Less than a year after the breakup, Justin released the hit Cry Me a River, in the video for which a girl very similar to Spears starred. According to the plot, Timberlake catches his beloved cheating. This is what the song is about, which the performer, as he said, wrote in a couple of hours on emotion. The hint was so obvious that the public had no doubt: the star couple broke up because of Britney's infidelity. The singer herself soon said in an interview that she was shocked by the ex-boyfriend's video. "But it's a great way to sell your song, he's smart," she added.

The story continued 10 years later. In 2013, during a concert before performing Cry Me a River, Justin addressed fans with a strange monologue. The singer said: “Sometimes you think you’ve found the one. And suddenly one day you find out that she’s just a bitch.” Later on Twitter, he asked the outraged public to "relax" and said he would never "disrespect anyone." But he didn’t explain what he meant.

Romances on the side

In her memoirs, Spears writes that there really were betrayals in the relationship - but on the part of Timberlake. Britney learned of at least two cases. So, she talked about Justin’s alleged short affair with one of the lead singers of the All Saints group, which occurred when he and Britney had already been dating for a year. Spears says she forgave her boyfriend everything because she was madly in love. She admits in her memoirs that she herself was not an angel, but all her infidelity, according to her, consisted of a kiss with another man - her choreographer.

After the release of the memoir, by the way, Spears wrote on social media that she wanted to apologize to those who might have been offended by her book. Since she then complimented Justin's new track, fans were sure that the apology was meant for him. Timberlake did not accept the apology: everyone came to this conclusion when, a few days later, during another concert (and, of course, before the song Cry Me a River), he said from the stage that he wanted to apologize to... "absolutely no one, damn it."

"Striptease" by Janet Jackson

Another Timberlake scandal is connected with another famous woman – Janet Jackson. The artists performed together at the Super Bowl in 2004, and during the performance of the track Rock Your Body, the singer suddenly pulled Janet’s top, exposing her breast. The public reaction was more than mixed: the CBS channel received about half a million complaints from viewers and was fined $550,000. Both Justin and Janet released statements of apology, but Timberlake claimed that the incident was an accident. Jackson said that they planned this moment, but it was not supposed to be so revealing, and the channel did not know about it. Therefore, the singer took the blame on herself.

It was Janet who came under fire, so much so that, according to the singer, her songs began to be banned from radio and TV. She blames the Super Bowl incident as the reason her career went downhill. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson admitted that Justin, she felt, did not support her enough during that period. Although some criticized him for an obvious attempt to distance himself, the scandal did not particularly affect his success: in the same year, the artist received two Grammy awards and began his film career.

Following the release of a documentary about Britney Spears in 2021, which included this story, Timberlake apologized to Britney and Janet Jackson. “I respect them both and I know I was wrong,” he said.

Rumors of cheating on his wife

Justin has been married to Jessica Biel for 12 years and they have two sons. However, every now and then rumors appear about the performer’s infidelities and family crises. These conversations began even before the stars got married. At the height of their romance, in 2010, the tabloids wrote that Justin spent three days with actress Olivia Munn - secretly from Jessica. The artist’s representative then denied everything, and there were no comments from Mann.

When Bill and Timberlake had been married for about seven years, a scandal broke out again, but this time it turned out to be much more difficult to refute the gossip. The paparazzi captured Justin with his partner in the film “Palmer” Alisha Wainwright: the actors were drinking together on the balcony and holding hands. Timberlake wrote on social networks that there was “nothing” between him and his colleague and that he simply had too much alcohol, but no one believed him. Justin said he regretted his behavior and made a public apology to the family who found themselves in an “awkward situation” because of him.

Insiders from Timberlake's circle confirm that when Justin drinks, he "flirts too much," which is why, they say, his wife often accompanies him to parties to keep him supervised. The singer’s acquaintances also claim that he has recently begun to drink more alcohol - allegedly because he was initially experiencing stress due to the release of Britney Spears’ memoirs, then anxiety about the not-so-best sales of his new album. At rehearsals for concerts as part of the current tour, insiders say, Timberlake often smells of alcohol, which his team notices. Friends have repeatedly asked the artist to think about it, but he did not listen to them. It seems that now Britney can safely record a response video message to her ex-lover with a call to “quit alcohol.”