Is Britney Spears’ Song About the Baby She Aborted?
Many Britney Spears fans are speculating if the pop princess’ song “Everytime” tells the story of her abortion with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. This came after Britney revealed through her upcoming memoir, The Woman In Me, that she had an abortion in 2000.
The 41-year-old “Toxic” hitmaker dated Justin Timberlake for three years from 1999 to 2002. She revealed that she conceived a baby when they were both 19 years old and at the height of their careers. The song, “Everytime,” was released in 2003. Back then, many believed that the song was about her separation from Justin and a response to Justin’s 2002 diss track, “Cry Me A River.”
The lyrics make it easy to misinterpret it as a song about their separation: “I guess I need you, baby” and “My weakness caused you pain, and this song’s my sorry.” But with the latest revelation and the scenes in the music video showing a woman who had just given birth to her baby, fans are seeing the song in a new light.
One tweet read, “Oh, so Britney Spears’ ‘Everytime’ wasn’t about Justin Timberlake, but it was about their baby?” Others responded by sharing their shock and how it made sense.
Messages of sympathy and support poured out for the Grammy award performer. Some claimed they had a different level of understanding of why Britney is the person she is today. One typed, “Poor girl had some deep trauma from this. Was never likely the same again.”
Recall that the music video was different from Britney’s usual powerful and fun clips. The “Everytime” music video could even be described as haunting because there was so much truth in it, especially the part where Britney was hounded by the paparazzi. What’s concerning is that the clip shows her eventually committing suicide and drowning in a bathtub. It was a scene that reminded many of the tragic deaths of other celebrities, particularly Marilyn Monroe—another overly sexualized star who overdosed at the young age of 36.
In Britney’s memoir, she described the abortion as one of the most agonizing things she has had to endure. She claimed that she underwent the procedure because Justin didn’t want to be a father at the time. However, she admitted wanting the baby because it was always her dream to have a family with Justin.
An excerpt from the memoir reads, “It was a surprise, but it wasn’t a tragedy for me. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.”
It went on to say, “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 sure he didn’t want to be a father.”
