Britney Spears’ highly anticipated memoir, The Woman in Me, is now available to purchase, and fans and pundits alike have seemingly been analyzing the book closely. While a number of major excerpts have made the rounds thus far, much of the content involving Spears’ ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, is gaining a significant amount of attention. One of the biggest revelations from Spears’ book in that regard is that she reportedly had an abortion when the couple conceived a child in 2000, as her former beau allegedly “didn’t want to be a father” at the time. Timberlake has since received considerable backlash for that and more. Now, Timberlake's former *NSYNC bandmate, Lance Bass, has weighed in.
The relationship between Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears (who broke up while she was shooting a music video) coincided with the former’s tenure as member of the iconic boy band. Just how much of the details of the romance Lance Bass knew at the time are unclear, but he surely was in the couple’s orbit. Bass was recently approached by TMZ and asked to weigh in on Spears’ book and the scrutiny his longtime friend and bandmate is facing. Bass offered a tempered response, saying that fans may want to consider exercising forgiveness at this time:
Look, everyone has their own opinion. I feel like the world is so full of hate right now and we need to practice a little forgiveness. Britney did. Let’s take a note from her. … Everyone deserves to tell their story, she did, and I hope the fans can find some forgiveness.
The music veteran’s comments fall in line with what had been reported about *NSYNC’s feelings on the memoir upheaval up to this point. Insiders previously reported that the group has been extending support to the “SexyBack” singer as of late. It sounds like Lance Bass is hoping for some kind of mea culpa between his bandmate and the fans. On the other hand, Bass also supports Britney Spears’ right to tell her story and also revealed that he bought the memoir and was planning to read it.
Britney Spears’ tell-all comes on the heels of a bit of a resurgence for *NSYNC, who reunited at this year’s VMAs. The group also recorded a new song on the soundtrack of Trolls Band Together (which Justin Timberlake stars in). On top of that, many have been wondering if the band might go on tour again. Nothing had been confirmed on that front but, with Timberlake now reportedly laying low for the time being, it’s hard to say whether that would actually become a reality.
All the while, the “Oops!... I Did It Again” singer continues to drum up buzz over the book and her social media presence. Not long ago, she addressed her memoir in a candid post, explaining why she decided to release it. She explained that the intention of the book was never to offend anyone but to give herself closure and to allow her to move on from past moments in her life.
It surely goes without saying that she didn’t hold anything back when writing down her thoughts and feelings about all topics, including Justin Timberlake. While it seems there was a lot to sort out, as Lance Bass says, Britney Spears has forgiven her ex. Whether or not the general public can do the same, however, remains to be seen.
