Britney Spears Fans Rejoice as She Dethrones Justin Timberlake's Hit Song 'Selfish' on Music Charts

Britney Spears fans stream and buy her 2011 song "Selfish" to top Justin Timberlake's new single, sparking controversy and rekindling old drama.

Britney Spears' fans have been showing their support for the singer by streaming and purchasing her 2011 song "Selfish" in an effort to outperform her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake's recent release of a single with the same name. The day Timberlake released the first single from his upcoming album, "Everything I Thought It Was," Spears' lesser-known song from the deluxe version of her album "Femme Fatale" made its debut in the Top 40 of the US iTunes chart.

The Britney fandom's account, BritneyxYtube, is credited with this clever move, which they say "started as a joke" when Timberlake announced the name of his new song. Fans humorously speculated that Spears was making a comeback with a "brand-new song." With the goal of reaching the top 10, the well-executed effort quickly gained traction, propelling the classic "Selfish" song to the top 40 on the US iTunes chart.

Timberlake has faced criticism since the release of Spears' revealing book, "The Woman In Me," last year, which disclosed shocking details about their relationship. In the book, Spears revealed that she had an abortion while dating Timberlake and accused him of cheating with a girl band member. She later regretted the abortion, which she reportedly made in 2000. The choice haunted her until she had her children, Sean Preston in 2005 and Jayden James in 2006, with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline.

While Timberlake did not address the accusations made in the book about his alleged actions during their relationship, he did disable comments on his Instagram page when Spears' fans inundated it with hateful remarks. During a December performance in Las Vegas, he appeared to reference the controversy, stating that he meant "no disrespect" before performing his 2002 solo hit "Cry Me a River," widely interpreted as a criticism of the couple's breakup in March 2002 after three years of dating.

A week after the release of the documentary "Framing Britney Spears" on Hulu in 2021, Timberlake also expressed regret on Instagram to Spears and Janet Jackson. According to Billboard, his post read, "I have seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond. I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed." Spears mentioned their tumultuous relationship in her 2023 biography, alleging that they both cheated on each other, but Timberlake appeared to place all the blame on Spears when he recorded "Cry Me a River" after their breakup in 2002.

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