Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman in Me is due out later this month, but it is already making news. People magazine obtained an advanced copy of the book and is reporting that Spears shares she got an abortion after finding herself pregnant with Justin Timberlake’s baby while they were dating some two decades ago.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Britt Mayer, founder of Rooted Wings, to discuss the bombshell disclosure and why they applaud Spears’ honesty.
Spears Speaks
Spears and Timberlake were pop culture royalty when they dated from 1999 to 2002. They were 17 and 18 at the beginning of their relationship. In excerpts from the book, Spears admitted that finding out she was pregnant was “a surprise” but “not a tragedy” because she “loved [Timberlake] so much” and “always expected” to have a family with him.
According to Spears, Timberlake “definitely wasn’t happy” about the pregnancy because he felt they were too young. She ultimately had an abortion. “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father,” she wrote. “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”
Timberlake, who has yet to respond to the reports, now shares two children, ages 8 and 3, with wife Jessica Biel. Spears is mom to sons – Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17 – with her second husband, Kevin Federline.
The memoir is set to be released on October 24 and comes nearly two years after the pop star was released from her 13-year court-ordered conservatorship in November 2021. According to a press release, it is meant to highlight the “importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms.”
‘I Applaud Her’
While Megyn said the revelation is a personal detail that many would have chosen not to share, she applauded Spears’ honesty. “I applaud her for admitting it,” she said. “What a change from… ‘I’m proud of my abortion.’ This is somebody who’s been one of America’s sweethearts saying, ‘I did this thing with one of the most famous men on the planet, and I’m really deeply regretful about the whole experience and how painful it was.’”
As Megyn explained, the admission sheds light on topics that are rarely discussed candidly. “There are real risks to this sort of carefree, ‘we’re gonna have premarital sex’… lifestyle,” she said. “If you find yourself pregnant and you’re not yet ready to be a mother or a father, these are your choices – you either have to give birth to a baby you didn’t really want to have and raise it or potentially give it up [for adoption] which also is emotionally tough; or you have to you have to kill your own baby.”
Mayer said Spears is showing a vulnerability that is often absent from conversations about abortion. “Bravo to her for coming forward and being so vulnerable in just saying that this was traumatic and not hiding behind it,” she shared. “My hope would be that this is a step toward healing for Britney.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Mayer by tuning in to episode 649 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.