Justin Timberlake Denies Hit Was Written About Britney Spears

In depth

Justin Timberlake has denied that the song What Goes Around... Comes Around was written about Britney Spears, almost 20 years after its release. For years the hit was considered a song written about his ex-girlfriend.

In an interview with Complex magazine, Timberlake said the song was not written about an event in his life, but is based on a friend's story, from whom he asked permission to adapt the idea. According to him, the hit was born from a phone call and was written in just 20 minutes.

Critics saw the song as a sequel to Cry Me a River, but Timberlake clarifies that the idea did not arise from his relationship with Spears. The denial came almost twenty years after the song became one of his biggest hits.