The REAL reason Britney Spears apologized to Justin Timberlake: Popstar felt guilty about her ex's response to her explosive accusations about their romance – while insiders reveal he STILL hasn't contacted her after tell-all memoir

Britney Spears apologized to Justin Timberlake for the backlash he received over her memoir, saying she “never meant for people to come after him” when she decided to be open about their relationship.

The famous pop stars dated from 1999 to 2002, and Britney made a series of explosive revelations about their tumultuous romance in her 2023 release, The Woman In Me.

The 42-year-old singer claimed Justin urged her to have an abortion when she became pregnant and accused him of making her look like a “whore who broke the heart of America's golden boy” when they broke up.

In the wake of the outrage, Britney's legion of devoted fans successfully mounted a campaign to get her 2011 song Selfish over her ex-boyfriend's comeback song of the same name.

But according to a Spears insider, the pop star felt extremely guilty about the fallout her ex-partner faced in the wake of her book's publication, as she was unaware of the commotion her confessions would cause.

“She didn't realize how powerful her words would be,” an insider exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com.

“As for what she said in her book, she never intended for people to come after Justin the way they did.

'Ultimately, it was Britney's decision to abort her baby. It was her body and if she really wanted to say no, she could have.”

On Sunday, Britney was seen extending an olive branch to her ex after she apologized on Instagram for “some things” she wrote, while also praising Justin's two new songs Selfish and Sanctified.

The insider stressed that the Toxic singer still wishes the best for her former partner – who has yet to contact Britney to apologize for his alleged actions.

“You will always have feelings for the first person you loved,” the source says. “Justin has defended her before, and she didn't want to hurt him as much as she did and change people's opinions of him… It was her story and she told it how she thought it should be told.”

They continued, “Justin never contacted Britney and they never had any private conversations.

“He never apologized to her or talked to her about it. That said, the fact that Britney's song Selfish from thirteen years ago is at number one is pure serendipity.'

In her olive branch post to Justin, Britney shared a recent clip of Justin performing with classroom instruments on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“I want to apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book,” she wrote. “If I have offended any of the people I really care about, I am deeply sorry…”

“I also wanted to say that I'm in love with Justin Timberlake's new song 'Selfish.' It's so freaking good and why does it make me laugh so hard every time I see Justin and Jimmy together??? Ps “Sanctified” is also wow.”

Justin came under fire from Britney's fans after she told her side of the story 20 years after their split, with many angered by her claim that in his single Cry Me a River, she was vilified for their breakup.

Justin promoted his albums and songs under the story that they broke his heart and even used a Britney lookalike for the 2002 song.

In 2018, Justin said he was so emotional after the breakup that he got rid of his feelings by writing Cry Me a River in just two hours.

“I felt at that moment that there was no way to tell my side of the story,” she recalled in her memoir. “I couldn't explain it because I knew no one would take my side once Justin convinced the world of his version. I don't think Justin realized the power he had to shame me. I don't think he understands it to this day.'

Britney also revealed that she became pregnant with Justin in 2000, with the singer having an abortion because the N*Sync star “didn't want to be a father.”

The Sometimes hitmaker described the 'painful' decision to end the pregnancy after falling pregnant in late 2000, when the pair were both 19.

The star claimed that while she wanted the baby and “dreamed of a family” with Justin, he “wasn't ready” for the responsibilities of parenthood and felt the couple was too young.

She wrote: 'It was a surprise, but for me it was not a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected that one day we would start a family together. This would just be a lot sooner than I expected.

“He said we weren't ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I'm sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.

'I don't know if that was the right decision. If it had been up to me alone, I would never have done it. And yet Justin was so sure he didn't want to be a father.'

She then accused Justin of cheating on her during their three-year relationship.

Britney did not name the person the hitmaker allegedly cheated on her with, calling her “another celebrity.”

It was previously reported that Justin did not want to speak out about the allegations so as not to 'get in the way' of Britney's chance to finally share her story.

However, the Sexy Back singer appeared to reference the criticism during a performance at the opening of Fontainebleau in Las Vegas last month.

Before launching Cry Me A River, he told the crowd: “No disrespect.”

A source close to Spears subsequently told Daily Mail.com that she “appreciated” him acknowledging the controversy surrounding the Grammy-winning song, but that he never apologized.

“The disrespect towards Britney is long overdue and while she appreciates his acknowledgment of it, Justin has never personally called or contacted her to apologize,” the insider told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'He never discussed this with her. Ever. Britney put this behind her and writing her book allowed her to release it. She's good.'