Fans think Britney Spears may have dropped a hint about her abortion nearly 15 years before finally opening up about the “agonizing” decision.
Spears alleges in her upcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me,” that ex Justin Timberlake got her pregnant in 2000 when she was just 18 or 19 years old. She claims the two agreed to go through with an abortion due to their young ages at the time.
Shortly after the news was reported on Tuesday, several fans flocked to social media to point out an apparent reference to the situation in Spears’ “Everytime” music video.
At one point in the 2009 music video, a young girl flatlines in the hospital while a woman in the room next door gives birth to a healthy baby.
As Spears, now 41, walks through both rooms, she takes a moment to turn and look at each woman before continuing to sing about being trapped in an unhealthy relationship while grappling with fame.
While it’s never been confirmed, fans have speculated for years that the song was about Spears’ rocky three-year romance with the *NSYNC member, 42.
“The HORRIBLE news about Britney’s abortion bc of Justin Timberlake just took Everytime music video to a whole new view,” one fan tweeted alongside a clip from the video. “She deserved better.”
“The baby in the Everytime music video was the baby Britney felt forced to abort,” another claimed. “My heart.”
“And now the ending of the Everytime music video has more context.. oh Britney 😞,” a third chimed in.
“There were rumors years ago that Everytime is about that baby, which is also why there’s a baby in the video portraying ‘rebirth,'” a fourth pointed out.
“It also explains why the song sounds like a lullaby,” wrote another, as a sixth fan noted the lyrics “I guess I need you, baby” come off completely different given the new context.
In an excerpt from Spears new memoir, published by People Tuesday, the songstress alleges that she had an abortion after discovering she was pregnant while dating Timberlake.
“It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much,” she writes. “I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated.”
The “Toxic” singer goes on to claim that “Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy” and insisted that they “weren’t ready to have a baby” and were “way too young” to be parents.
“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.”
Despite going through with the procedure, Spears says the decision still haunts her “to this day, admitting. “It’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”
Spears and Timberlake started dating in 1999 when they were both teenagers. They called it quits after three years together, which Timberlake later hinted was due to infidelity on Spears’ end.
While the “Womanizer” singer never confirmed nor denied the allegations, Timberlake added fuel to the fire in 2002 after he used a Spears look-alike in the “Cry Me a River” music video.
Years later, Timberlake was slammed for his treatment of Spears and the impact it had on the singer in the media, prompting the “Suit & Tie” singer to issue her an apology.
“I want to take accountability for my own missteps in all of this as well as be a part of a world that uplifts and supports,” he wrote in part on Instagram. “I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better and I will do better.”
Although he has since publicly supported Spears on numerous occasions, sources recently told Page Six that Timberlake was “concerned” about the release of Spears’ new memoir, which hits bookstores on Oct. 24.
