Britney Spears apologises to Justin Timberlake for revelations she made in memoir
Britney Spears has appeared to apologise to Justin Timberlake for things she wrote about him in her autobiography.
The 42-year-old singer shared a post on Instagram saying she was sorry if she had “offended any of the people I genuinely care about” along with a clip of Justin Timberlake singing on Saturday Night Live.
Spears published her book, The Woman In Me, in October, in which she revealed she had an abortion while dating the former NSYNC star.
Pic: AP
In her post, Spears 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…”
Sharing a clip of Timberlake singing with US chat show host Jimmy Fallon, she added: “I also wanted to say I am 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 ???”
She also praised another of his new songs, Sanctified.
Spears was 17 when she began dating Timberlake in 1999 after they met on the Mickey Mouse Club, which was a launchpad for numerous celebrities including Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling.
Pic: Reuters
The pair were together until 2002.
In her memoir, Spears described the unplanned pregnancy as a “surprise”.
Read More: Ten revelations from Britney’s tell-all book
Pic: Reuters
She wrote: “For me, it wasn’t a tragedy. But 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.
“If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it.”
She also described the abortion as “one of the most agonising things I have ever experienced in my life”.
Pic: Reuters
Spears went on to have two children with the rapper and dancer Kevin Federline, who she married in 2004.
In her book, Spears also described herself as “a child robot”, in reference to the controversial conservatorship that governed her life for more than 13 years, allowing her father to control her freedom and finances.
It ended in late 2021 after a swelling #FreeBritney movement that helped secure new limits on conservatorships in California.
Entertainment
Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
Read more:
Injuries after explosion at Iraq military base
UK soldiers ‘exposed’ to toxic chemical in Iraq must get answers
In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
Read more on Sky News:
Newsreader ‘receiving medical care’ after on-screen behaviour worries fans
Actress Emma Stone says she ‘would like to be’ called by her real name
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
Entertainment
ITV newsreader Rageh Omaar ‘receiving medical care’ after on-screen behaviour worries fans
ITV News presenter Rageh Omaar is “receiving medical care” after becoming “unwell” live on-air, the TV channel says.
Omaar, 56, was presenting News At Ten on Friday when he appeared to be struggling to read the news bulletins, stumbling over words, prompting concern online.
ITV pulled the show from its scheduled re-run on ITV+1, telling viewers that the channel was “temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service”.
Afterwards, an ITV News spokesperson said: “We are aware that viewers are concerned about Rageh Omaar’s wellbeing.
“Rageh became unwell while presenting News at Ten on Friday and is now receiving medical care.
Rageh Omaar in 2021. File pic: PA
“He thanks everyone for their well wishes.”
No further details were given and it is unclear what was happening to Omaar during the broadcast.
Omaar covers major news stories as ITV’s international affairs editor, while also presenting the channel’s current affairs programme On Assignment.
He was previously a senior foreign correspondent for the BBC, rising to prominence during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?