Timbaland has apologized after joking that Justin Timberlake “should have put a muzzle” on Britney Spears during an Oct. 29 live interview with 9th Wonder at the Kennedy Center.

When taking a question from an audience member about the renewed interest toward the producer’s Timberlake collab “Cry Me a River” amid the release of Spears’ memoir, Timbaland said, “She goin’ crazy, right? I wanted to call JT, ‘Man, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl.’”

After a heavy day of backlash on social media, Timbaland went live on TikTok as he does most nights, showing remorse for his comments. “I apologize to the Britney fans and her,” he said, reading a comment asking about his attitude towards women. “Yes, ‘you know about respecting women?’ Hell yeah.”

In an excerpt from Spears’ memoir, “The Woman in Me,” Spears writes that Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” music video painted her as a villain after the fallout of their widely publicized relationship. The video featured Timberlake dealing with an unfaithful girlfriend that looked more or less like Spears, seemingly confirming a rumor perpetuated by the media that she had cheated on Timberlake.

In the book, Spears describes the video as “a woman who looks like me cheats on him and he wanders around sad in the rain.” She writes that the media attention that erupted because of the music video’s release turned her into a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy,” when in reality she was “comatose in Louisiana” nursing a broken heart and Timberlake was “happily running around Hollywood.”

Timbaland co-wrote and co-produced “Cry Me a River,” and also sings the bridge and features in the music video. He also produced Timberlake’s 2006 hit album “FutureSex/LoveSounds” and 2013′s “The 20/20 Experience.” He confirmed to Variety earlier this year that he finished recording Timerlake’s new album, which he teased sounds like “FutureSex” Part 2.

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