In apology to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake says ‘industry sets up white men for success’

After being taken apart by Britney Spears’ fans, former N-Sync member Justin Timberlake, on Friday, issued an apology to Spears and Janet Jackson for his untoward behaviour and affirmed that ‘I know, I failed’.

The ‘Cry Me a River’ singer said that he feels compelled to respond to the criticisms because ‘this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from’. He was quick to mention that the entertainment industry is flawed and ‘sets up white men for success’.

“The industry is flawed. It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position I have to be vocal about this. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognise it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again,” Timberlake said.

“I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better and I will do better,” the former boy band member wrote.

Spears’ documentary, “Framing Britney Spears“, navigates the singer’s journey in Hollywood and how she was preyed on by the media.

The documentary includes audio from a 2002 radio interview in which Timberlake jokes about the couple’s sex life; Spears, for years, was torn over the state of her virginity prior to the break-up.

Spears and Timberlake dated several years, having met as children while cast members of Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club” variety show.

The popular narrative of their breakup cast Spears as a cheating heartbreaker, offering sympathy to Timberlake especially after he released a revenge fantasy music video for the break-up hit “Cry Me A River.”