Britney Spears says she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake
Britney Spears says she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake more than 20 years ago.
The revelation came from an excerpt of the US pop star’s upcoming memoir – a selection of extracts which were published on Tuesday by People magazine.
In the excerpt, Spears described the pregnancy as a “surprise”, but 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”.
Sky News has reached out to representatives for Spears and Timberlake for comment.
Spears, a prolific user of social media, has not posted to Instagram or X, formerly known as Twitter, since the People magazine story was published.
Spears and Timberlake in 2001
The singer was 17 when she started dating then NSYNC star, Timberlake, in 1999. The pair were together until 2002.
It is unclear from the excerpts when the pregnancy happened.
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Spears went on to have two children with the rapper and dancer Kevin Federline, who she married in 2004.
However, she was later placed under a court-ordered conservatorship – mostly under the supervision of her father Jamie Spears – after public breakdowns.
The controversial legal arrangement governed Spears’ 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.
Her tell-all memoir, titled The Woman In Me, will be published in October.
According to the book’s publisher, it will be a “brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope”.
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The book deal – reported to be worth as much as $15m (£11m) – will also cover the singer’s battle to end her conservatorship.
Announcing the book in July, she wrote in a post on social media: “It’s coming, my story, on my terms, at last.”
Its publication comes just months after the 41-year-old’s divorce from Sam Asghari was announced.
The pair married in June last year at her home in Los Angeles in a ceremony where the guests included Madonna and Drew Barrymore.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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