Justin Timberlake says ‘What Goes Around… Comes Around’ wasn’t about Britney Spears, but he hasn’t said the same about ‘Cry Me a River’

Justin Timberlake said his 2006 hit “What Goes Around… Comes Around” was not inspired by Britney Spears, but by a story a friend told him over the phone. Timberlake shared the story behind the song during an appearance on Complex’s “Re-Rank” show, as reported by TMZ.

Fans have speculated for years that the song was about Spears, especially since it was released after the pair’s very public split. Timberlake said the song actually came from one of his friends, who was “just going through it” and told him all about what had happened.

Timberlake said he asked his friend, “Do you mind if I write about this?” His friend replied, “Yeah, torch that *****. What goes around comes around.” Timberlake said he immediately told his friend, “I have to go, thank you,” and when his confused friend asked, “What?” he responded, “I got it.”

He wrote the whole thing in 20 minutes

After hanging up the phone, Timberlake said it took him about 20 minutes to write the entire song. The track became a huge success, but rumors that it was aimed at Spears, and that it served as a follow-up to his 2002 hit “Cry Me a River,” stuck around for years.

“Cry Me a River” may be a different story. Timberlake has not said whether Spears was the inspiration for that song, though he has shared other memorable phone stories, including the time he cursed out Michael Jackson.

Timberlake touched on the songwriting process for “Cry Me a River” in his 2018 book, Hindsight: & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me. Without naming anyone, he wrote, “I’ve been scorned. I’ve been p***** off. I wrote ‘Cry Me a River’ in two hours. I didn’t plan on writing it.”

“What Goes Around… Comes Around” was the third single from Timberlake’s 2006 album FutureSex/LoveSounds and was co-written and produced with Timbaland and Danja, according to Wikipedia. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, his third straight chart-topper from the album. It also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards, and its music video, which starred Scarlett Johansson as Timberlake’s love interest, won Best Direction at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

Timberlake also has an upcoming docuseries, which will reportedly discuss his past relationships with Janet Jackson and Spears. Members of *NSYNC have also been interviewed for the project.