Timbaland has been met with a wave of fury from fans after suggesting that Justin Timberlake should have ‘put a muzzle’ on Britney Spears.

The Toxic singer, 41, has made headlines over her gripping memoir, The Woman In Me – which sold well over 1million copies in the first week it was released.

In the book, she went into detail about her relationship with the SexyBack star, 42, who famously recorded Cry Me A River with the producer shortly after their split in 2002.

Following the release of her story, in which she spoke of the way her ex dumped her with a ‘two-word message’, Justin was forced to disable comments on his Instagram and jetted away with his wife, Jessica Biel.

A video has since made the rounds of a talk Timbaland, real name Timothy Mosley, gave at the Kennedy Center last month, while appearing at Sound Architects: A Producer Conversation – in which he was questioned about current the talk around Cry Me A River and the book.

‘She’s going crazy, right?’ the 51-year-old said to laughs from the audience. ‘I wanted to call and say, ‘JT, you gotta put a muzzle on that girl”.

‘But you know what? We live in the age of social media and viral. Everyone wants to go viral. I get it because that’s the way you make money, [by going] viral. “I’ve got to do something to get people’s attention.”’

The footage itself has since gone viral, with fans fuming over Timbaland’s comments that Britney needed to ‘be muzzled’ for sharing her story.

In a post on Reddit discussing the clip, one penned: ‘That’s disgusting. Why do men continue to think it’s okay to talk about women like this? It makes me so very tired.’

‘Absolutely disgusting. What a foul comment to make. If you come away from Britney’s story with the idea she’s crazy, then there is something deeply wrong with you,’ another agreed.

‘Ughh that is disappointing. I really like his music but I’m not going to tolerate the misogyny [sic],’ a follower penned.

A Twitter user said: I’m glad Britney is speaking up, their reactions are just proving that everything she said is true.’

‘This is in very bad taste especially given what Britney went through,’ a commenter added.

Britney has yet to speak out over Timbaland’s comments.

The pop icon first met Justin when they starred alongside one another on the Mickey Mouse Club, in the 90s – before they started dating in 2000.

It wasn’t to last and they went their separate ways two years later, amid speculation that Britney had been unfaithful.

However, shedding light on their two-year romance, she claimed that her now-ex had been unfaithful, while also detailing their devastating decision to get an abortion after she secretly became pregnant.

NSYNC star Lance Bass recently spoke out in defense of his bandmate, urging fans to ‘forgive’ Justin’s previous actions.

Speaking to TMZ about the criticism the Social Network actor has been met with since the release of The Woman In Me, he begged for ‘forgiveness’ from the public.

‘I just feel like the world is so full of hate right now that we need to practice a little forgiveness,’ he said. ‘Britney did! So, let’s take a note from her.

‘Everyone deserves the chance to tell their story. She did and I hope, again, you know, that the fans can find some forgiveness.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Britney and Timbaland for a comment.

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