Britney Spears Song Rises After Timberlake Arrest

Britney Spears is having a little bit of a win following her ex-boyfriend's arrest. After Justin Timberlake was busted on suspicion of driving while intoxicated early Tuesday in the Hamptons, Spears fans mounted a social media campaign urging people to purchase her 2011 song "Criminal," released as a single off her Femme Fatale album. As a result, the song started climbing the iTunes charts, People reports. Spears fans launched a similar campaign in January, when Timberlake released "Selfish," urging people to purchase Spears' 2011 single of the same name—and causing it to hit No. 1 on the iTunes charts.

Spears, who claimed in her 2023 memoir that Timberlake cheated on her during their relationship and pressured her to have an abortion, also made a couple of Instagram posts following Timberlake's arrest that Us and other outlets referred to as "cryptic." One is a picture of what appears to be a fruity cocktail, captioned, "It's the little things you know." The next is a video of Spears in a dress, captioned, "First cocktail dress ever !!!" Some fans theorized Spears was "shading" Timberlake by flaunting her own, apparently carefree life, Newsweek reports. Meanwhile, Timberlake's lawyer spoke out Wednesday, vowing to "vigorously" defend his client in court, People reports. (More Britney Spears stories.)