Justin Timberlake was every teen girl’s crush at the height of his fame – but now, years on, is being taken to task over the “disrespectful” way he allegedly treated his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears.

Britney Spears claims Justin Timberlake asked her to have an abortion after getting her pregnant in her younger years – but that’s far from the only scandal between the two pop singers, who first started dating in their teens. Justin has been plunged back into the public eye after a hiatus, as he marks the release of his sixth solo album, Everything I Thought It Was, out today. However, he previously caused a stir by spilling the beans about his sex life with ex Britney live on radio.

Britney had started out by claiming that she was saving her virginity for marriage – but when Justin was later asked about the vow of chastity America’s sweetheart had made, he burst out laughing. He laid their relationship bare in no uncertain terms during the Star and Buc Wild morning radio show, after he was quizzed: “I just want to ask you one question… did you f**k Britney Spears?”

“Oh man… okay I did it!” he confessed, prompting the members of the studio to burst into cheers of applause. The astonishingly candid interview continued with Justin being asked if he’d had “oral intercourse” with Britney – and to listeners’ shock, he was willing to divulge that too.

“I did it. I’m dirty. I’m in so much damn trouble, man. I’m going to get calls from my mother!” he replied. Later, after the relationship ended, radio host Barbara Walters quizzed whether Britney had “kept her promise to wait until marriage” – to which Justin also responded with laughter.

Britney went on to tell W magazine how disappointed she was by the public betrayal, exclaiming: “I thought Justin was the one. But I was wrong. I didn’t think he was gonna go on Barbara Walters and sell me out.” She later clarified, via her explosive autobiography Woman In Me, that she had lost her virginity at the age of 14, before her relationship with Justin started, to a family friend three years her senior.

“The age difference between me and that guy was huge, obviously – now it seems outrageous,” she reflected, adding that her “protective” brother Bryan had grown to “hate” him.

Justin later alluded to the fact that Britney had cheated on him, which was the inspiration of his bestselling 2002 hit Cry Me A River.

She subsequently admitted to kissing her choreographer Wade Robson at a bar, adding that this lapse was the only time infidelity had occurred.

Back in 2003, Britney burst into tears on television after being accused of “breaking Justin’s heart” and being “a villain”.

Diane Sawyer addressed her during her primetime US TV interview for ABC, quizzing: “You broke his heart. You did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?”

When she went further and said Justin had “left the impression she wasn’t faithful”, Britney ambiguously responded: “I’m not technically saying he’s wrong, but I’m not technically saying he’s right either.”

Then, in 2004, Justin hit the headlines for ripping off Janet Jackson’s clothing at the Superbowl to reveal her breast, totally bare apart from a large nipple adornment.

Years later, in a 2021 statement, he made a dramatic apology referencing Janet and Britney, saying that he’d “failed them”.

Stating that he’d “benefitted from a system that condones misogyny and racism”, he added: “I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”

He also passionately defended Britney after her conservatorship struggles came to light.

However, following the release of Britney’s explosive memoir last October, he seemed to have had a change of heart about apologies in some regards, announcing on stage at a NYC show that he’d like to take the opportunity “to apologise to absolutely f*****g nobody”.