Britney Spears’ fans are attempting to drive her 2011 song Criminal back up the charts in light of Justin Timberlake’s DWI arrest.

One of Britney’s biggest fan groups – the X account Britney Stan that boasts almost 70,000 followers – encouraged fans to buy her song Criminal, in a not-so-subtle dig at her ex following his arrest.

‘Fans are buying “Criminal” by Britney Spears after Justin Timberlake’s arrest,’ Britney Stan tweeted on Tuesday morning, along with a clip from the music video.

The same account, BritneyTheStan, also posted on X: ‘Justin Timberlake who once told Britney she needed to stop drinking in 2007 has been ARRESTED for drunk driving. Britney Spears deserves an apology! #JusticeForBritney.’

That tweet referenced remarks Justin made back in 2007 while accepting a Brit Award which were interpreted as a message to his ex. ‘Stop drinking! You know who you are. I’m speaking to you. You are going to get sloppy. OK! magazine is going to say something bad about you,’ he said.

Britney Spears fans appear to be attempting to drive her 2011 song Criminal back up the charts in light of Justin Timberlake’s arrest for DWI

Timberlake later insisted the message was not intended for Britney, and a representative said Timberlake was merely referencing ‘people in the crowd, no one in particular,’ according to Fox News. 

Timberlake has been feeling the wrath of Britney fans for the last few years, particularly following the release of her 2023 memoir The Woman In Me.

The book contained a series of explosive revelations about their romance: revealing he urged her to have an abortion when she fell pregnant and that he made her look like a ‘harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy’.

Timberlake was trolled by Spears fans as her side of the story finally came out two decades on and The Britney Army have continued to support her now.

In January her fans sent her 2011 song Selfish back up the charts after her ex dropped his new single with the same name.

Selfish (Justin’s version) was the lead single on his new album Everything I Thought It Was, his first studio album since 2018’s Man Of The Woods.

Spears made multiple accusations against her ex Justin in her 2023 memoir The Woman In Me, including criticizing his 2002 track Cry Me a River for how it made her look.

Spears famously dated Timberlake from 2002 to 2007

Fans brought up remarks Timberlake previously made in which he urged someone to ‘stop drinking’ – he later insisted the comments were not about Britney

The former pop power couple pictured in 2002

Britney fans have been harboring animosity towards Timberlake ever since the bombshell claims made in the Toxic singer’s memoir, The Woman In Me

When they split his career soared. Albums and songs were promoted under the narrative that Spears broke his heart.

In the music video for Cry Me A River, he even used a Spears lookalike and she was vilified for their break-up.

In 2018 Timberlake said he was so emotional following his split from Spears that he unloaded his feelings by writing Cry Me a River in just two hours.

Yet in her 2023 memoir, Spears revealed she got pregnant by Timberlake in 2000 with the singer undergoing an abortion because the N*Sync star ‘didn’t want to be a father.’

The Toxic hitmaker detailed the ‘agonizing’ decision to terminate the pregnancy after conceiving in late 2000 when the pair were both 19.

The star claimed while she wanted the baby and ‘dreamed of having a family’ with Timberlake, he ‘wasn’t ready’ for the responsibilities of parenthood and thought the pair were too young.

She wrote: 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.

‘He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.

‘I don’t know if that was the right decision. 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.’

It was also claimed in the book Spears reveals she was raised ‘not to get an abortion’ due to religious reasons and what she had learned from her family, reports TMZ.

She went on to accuse Timberlake of cheating on her during their three-year relationship.

Spears didn’t name the person the hitmaker allegedly cheated on her with, referring to her as ‘another celebrity.’

Timberlake appeared to reference the criticism while performing at the opening of the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas in December.

Ahead of launching into the hit song, he told the audience: ‘No disrespect.’