Britney Spears and Janet Jackson are reportedly "bonding over shared Justin Timberlake humiliation"

Britney Spears has reportedly found a rock in Janet Jackson as the two women were publicly humiliated by Justin Timberlake. Toxic singer Britney’s former relationship with the NSYNC star has been laid bare in her new memoir, The Woman In Me, which speaks at her pain of being vilified through his song and video for Cry Me A River. She also revealed she had an abor**on after falling pregnant when she and Justin were teenagers, a decision she struggled with. Janet, meanwhile, was the subject of public mocking and real anger when, during their 2004 Super Bowl performance, Justin ripped her bodice and exposed her breast. Her career seriously faltered, while he went on to be more popular than ever, with iconic album Future***/LoveSounds coming two years after the scandal. Now it appears Britney and Janet have formed a friendship over their shared experience, with a source telling The Mirror they are ‘still bonded by the backlash.’ Janet reached out to Britney following the publication of the memoir, offering ‘support and encouragement,’ and Britney was ‘appalled’ at how Janet was treated in the Super Bowl ‘by the same PR machine that had denigrated her.’ The two women feel Justin ‘had a lot to gain by tearing them both down,’ the source went on, saying they had private conversations at the time ‘which picked up again recently.’ ‘They have a shared experience and Janet wanted Britney to know that she is here for her.’ Janet previously said she had advised Justin not to release a statement after the Super Bowl scandal to protect himself. ‘And I said, “Listen, I don’t want any drama for you. They’re aiming all of this at me”. So I said, “If I were you I wouldn’t say anything”.’ Despite Justin being the one to rip off Janet’s clothing, the singer was singled out in the aftermath and forced to apologise while also being fined and blacklisted by MTV and US radio at the time. Although Janet explained that Justin left her ‘hanging’ on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006, in her latest Sky docu-series last year she emphasised that the two artists are still ‘good’ friends. Justin himself apologised over the takedown of both women in 2021, following the release of documentary Framing Britney Spears. He said at the time: ‘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 apologise to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson, both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know that I failed.’