To this day I just find Justin Timberlake hard to like, I don’t know why. There are many songs of his that I like he was great in the films Friends with Benefits and In Time but I’ve never been into him…

Until recently I had never even fully seen the entire music video: “Cry me a River” it reeked of what I now know to be a thing called “shade” and being the biggest Britney fan ever I was so disappointed and freaked out that he made such a video.

However now that I’m older I find myself being drawn to music from the noughties because it is phenomenal and somewhat timeless. Although said music video subtly catches that 02′ cute pop-dominated aesthetic- think Britney’s baker boy cap- if it was released today it would still be edgy.

Now that I’m legally an adult I’ve learned to embrace a little concept called “Hidden in Plain Sight.” After all from an entertainment business perspective it makes a lot of sense for Cry me a River to turn out the way that it did. The World’s biggest superstar allegedly cheated on a boyband frontman at the moment when he was crafting his solo debut. In hindsight such an emotional travesty is gold dust. Nobody gets a worldwide hit from some piece of art about conventional pleasant feelings.

The ending of the vid is creepy but everything else is on point. But how else could it be done? The song and video contains universal themes of anguish, heartache and portrays the deep and dark side of jealousy prevalent in many men. Sometimes you just have to say and act out what you gotta do that’s the whole point in pursuing a career in the Arts.

Okay but how would I feel if this video was made about me? Yes it would freak me out initially. However it is unlikely in the context of a romantic relationship that I would cheat or the like. So it would be grossly unfair to happen to me. But if I had done such a thing yeah it would infuriate me but it’s fair game because in show business there’s no such thing as bad publicity. It’s win win for both parties. This personal revelation never stopped making me a Britney fan and Justin’s dark act didn’t make me stop viewing his work. Music videos and music are forms of art and art must be controversial and if it can wound a soul so be it. He’s only throwing out shade in proportion to how much she hurt him.  Notably scurrilous raps or lyrics are another ball game.

Done.

Now I’m off to get bangs…