Britney Spears Felt 'Exploited' by Diane Sawyer After Journalist Pushed Her to Tears During Justin Timberlake Breakup Interview
In Britney Spears’ new book, The Woman in Me, the pop star revealed how she felt during her emotional 2003 sit-down with Diane Sawyer.
According to the memoir, the interview was a “breaking point” for Spears after her devastating split from ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
“I felt like I had been exploited,” the “Toxic” singer confessed, reportedly adding she believes she was “set up in front of the whole world.”
The blonde beauty also mentioned that her father, Jamie Spears, and her management made her sit down with Sawyer, though she didn’t feel ready.
During the infamous interview, Spears broke down into tears talking about her former relationship. Sawyer repeatedly pushed the now mother-of-two, seemingly hoping to place the blame for the couple’s fallout on her.
At the time, rumors swirled that Spears had cheated on Timberlake, which allegedly led to their breakup. Sawyer appeared to try to run with this narrative.
“You broke his heart, you did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering … what did you do?” she asked Spears.
While she never confessed to Sawyer, in her upcoming tell-all, the musician admitted she had been unfaithful to the *NSYNC member, however, she divulged that Timberlake also stepped out on their relationship.
In addition to bashing Sawyer in her memoir, Spears also claimed she had an abortion while dating Timberlake in the early ’00s, noting that she felt her pregnancy was a "surprise," but not a "tragedy."
“I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,” Spears wrote in an excerpt.
“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,” she penned. “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 left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
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After this bombshell news was released, a source revealed how Timberlake is dealing with Spears’ claims.
"Justin has been focusing on his own family and trying not to concern himself with Britney's memoir," they said of the actor, whom shares sons Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3, with wife Jessica Biel.
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They continued: "In recent years, Justin has tried to be supportive of Britney from a distance. They dated so long ago, but he still has respect for her. Justin and Jessica just want everyone to grow and evolve instead of continuing to bring up the past."
The New York Times reported on the advanced copy of Spears' memoir.