Justin Timberlake Didn’t Think Through His Latest Single’s Title, Or: Britney Spears’ Fanbase Shows Which Singer’s “Selfish” Is Boss

At one of the many uncomfortable points during Justin Timberlake’s first solo single (without the crutch of adding any features or being the feature) in almost six years, he sings, “You’re the owner of my heart/And all my scars/Baby, you’ve got such a hold on me.” In many respects, that line easily applies to Britney Spears. Like Taylor Swift and Kanye West (or Ye, if you must), the two seem condemned to be forever linked in the pop culture sphere. Of late, that’s been mostly Spears’ doing, as she’s finally seen fit to tell her side of the story that’s primarily “belonged” to Justin since their breakup in 2002. This came in the form of her bestselling memoir, The Woman in Me, in which she not only tongue-in-cheekly mocks Timberlake for his late 90s/early 00s predilection for attempting a blaccent, but also exposes him for cajoling her into getting an abortion. Worse still, an at-home abortion so that no media outlet could ever find out that she was pregnant with his child. For that would have really fucked with his “wholesome” boy band image (though, if he had been in the Backstreet Boys, it might have only helped his image). So would being outed for his tendency to cheat on Spears throughout their relationship, a reality she also chose to keep to herself (even when certain gossip rags didn’t) until The Woman in Me. 

Unfortunately for Timberlake, he seemed to be orchestrating a “comeback” right as Spears reminded everyone, in the most official capacity yet, of what a douche he is. This has been proven not only in his dealings with Spears (who he kept bringing up and besmirching repeatedly years after the breakup, including on a horrific SNL sketch from 2009 called “Immigrant Tale”), but with, just as infamously, Janet Jackson, who took all the flak for the 2004 “Nipplegate” snafu at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Funnily enough, many have speculated that Timberlake “planned” the incident as a means to upstage Spears after her lesbianic kiss with Madonna at the 2003 VMAs just months earlier. If that was, in some form or another, truly the case, then both parties definitely got more than they bargained for. It also appeared as though Timberlake wanted to emulate and one-up Spears when she did a duet with Michael Jackson (specifically, “The Way You Make Me Feel”) for a 2001 special called Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration. Timberlake and Janet Jackson cavorted around the stage following each other in a similar fashion, and it might have stayed as respectable and well-received as what Spears and Michael Jackson did were it not for that “unexpected” finale.

The irony of Timberlake singing, “No disrespect, I don’t mean no harm” and “Gonna have you naked by the end of this song” right before Jackson’s nipple was exposed was almost too on the nose (or nipple) as well. Timberlake’s statement in the aftermath also didn’t align entirely with the one Janet made, which was: “The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended—including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL.” Timberlake, instead, used the term “wardrobe malfunction” rather than admitting that a planned costume reveal had gone awry. It was just one of his many selfish behaviors in the 00s. Which women like Spears and Jackson bore the brunt of because that decade was a period that favored dragging female celebrities through the mud for even the slightest hint of sex positivity. That made Jackson an even easier target because this was exactly the type of sexuality that society used against a woman to make her feel shame. In any other place (save for the Middle East), the exposure of a breast on TV would be nothing to write home about. In the puritanical U.S. and, worse still, on the NFL’s watch, it was. And Timberlake used that to his advantage in order to sidestep any real culpability. Even though it was he who seemed to rip the garment off a little too overzealously. 

However, as usual, Timberlake displayed a pattern for setting women’s reputations on fire and then walking away looking like the better person somehow. Spears’ fans are no longer content to let that pattern stand and they showed as much the day that Timberlake’s poorly-named single, “Selfish,” was released on January 25th. And no, it’s not just poorly-named because it speaks to the heart of Timberlake’s actions up until the point where he was held publicly accountable for them in 2021 (after both Framing Britney Spears and Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson were released, delivering a one-two punch in terms of showing how complicit Timberlake was in each woman’s tarring and feathering in the media), “forced” by the deluge of internet trolling to issue a public apology (and a flaccid one at that). It’s also poorly-named because Timberlake (and his team of handlers) didn’t seem to take note that Spears, too, has a song titled that. And, although it’s but a bonus track from 2011’s Femme Fatale, that hasn’t stopped fans from getting it to trend and place at number one on the iTunes charts above Timberlake’s own “Selfish.” Ah, how embarrassing. To know that the sins you committed against someone who never spoke the truth about you until now are going to haunt you in some very unexpected ways going forward. Including this latest little “prank,” if you will, from the Britney Army (the fanbase with the most hilarious and karmic sense of humor, it would seem). A legion that has presently put a spotlight on how different a song called “Selfish” can be when coming from two contrasting personality types (and not just because Brit is a Sagittarius to Justin’s Aquarius).  

Indeed, with this previously slept-on bonus track back in the spotlight, it proves itself to be worth the revisit (as do most of the other Femme Fatale bonus tracks, namely “He About To Lose Me” and “Scary”). Comparing the themes of each song, it’s clear that Spears is coming from a genuine (and genuinely unapologetic) place, admitting it’s time for her to have a selfish night of fun (a.k.a. be selfish in the boudoir), whereas Timberlake tries to cloak his selfishness in something like “love” and “altruism” with a chorus that goes, “If I get jealous/I can’t help it/I want every bit of you/I guess I’m selfish.” It’s in the vein of John Lennon saying, “I didn’t mean to hurt you/I’m sorry that I made you cry/Oh no, I didn’t want to hurt you/I’m just a jealous guy.” Not really useful after you’ve been emotionally and/or physically abused, but whatever. 

Maybe that’s why Timberlake does his best to offset some of the chorus with a “softness” that makes him sound like he’s been listening to too much Taylor Swift. Because, as any Swiftie knows, Taylor is obsessed with “mark” imagery. So when JT declares, “Owner of my heart/Tattooed your mark” it sounds awfully familiar. And almost like he’s trying too hard to tap into his “feminine side” after so many decades spent relishing his misogyny. 

Maybe Spears ought to have “S&M’d” him when she had the chance, perhaps only fully coming into her sexually dominant own after Timberlake had already done her wrong. And, speaking of “S&M,” that song majorly channels the overall vibe of Femme Fatale, released in March of 2011—just one month before Rihanna would drop the “S&M” remix with Britney on it (in fact, the song was originally written for Britney). Similar to the domineering vibes of “S&M,” Spears flexes on “Selfish,” “​​Okay, you think you got me where you want me/I’ma show you tonight (la, la, la)/That I’m a girl and you’re a boy/And tonight, you gon’ be my, be my man.” It sounds like just the sort of thing Timberlake, little boy that he was, needed to hear back when the two were together. Along with, “Tonight, I’m feelin’ sexual/Come on and play inside my love below/Strip down and give me my own private show [Britney loves talking about private shows]/I’m gonna be a little selfish, be a little selfish.” Instead, it’s fairly probable that Timberlake got to be the most sexually selfish between the two of them throughout their relationship. If for no other reason than the fact that he cheated multiple times. That’s pretty damn selfish (sexually and in general). 

While Jessica Biel might like to believe this song was inspired by her, it’s apparent that Britney will remain his underlying (no sex position pun intended) forever muse (and, now, nemesis). Because if anyone’s the “Exaholic” (the name of an unreleased track from Spears’ Glory album), it’s Justin. Alas, his obsession with Britney post-breakup (this time unwittingly revealed by naming his song the same title as something she already did) has proven to backfire spectacularly (thanks to the fighting spirit of the Britney Army). Almost as spectacularly as naming his dog Brennan not long after Britney said that was her preferred baby name. With the revelation that Timberlake strong-armed her into aborting the child that might have been named that, well, shit, it’s just another bad look—no, another selfish look—to add to the pile.