Timbaland has apologised for saying that Justin Timberlake should have "put a muzzle" on Britney Spears following her release of bombshell 'The Woman in Me' book.

The rapper/producer has recently faced some major backlash after stating that the NSYNC singer should have "put a muzzle" on Britney.

"She going crazy, right?" Timbaland told a reporter in reference to Britney, according to footage obtained by Pop Base.

Soon after the interview, the 51-year-old received a huge amount of criticism online.

"I apologise to the Britney fans and her," he said on Tuesday during a TikTok livestream.

He continued: "You have a voice. You speak what you wanna speak. Who am I to tell you what not to speak?"

In her memoir, she revealed many intimate details about her and Justin's three-year relationship, including that he had allegedly urged her to terminate a pregnancy after she fell pregnant at 19.

In her own words, Britney explains: "It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn't a tragedy. 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."

She adds: "But Justin definitely wasn't happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren't ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young."

Britney and Justin dated from 1999 until 2002.

Cover Media with additional reporting from Sophie van Soest.