Justin Timberlake says his hit isn't about Britney Spears after all

Fans have debated it for almost two decades. Now Justin Timberlake has an answer: his hit "What Goes Around… Comes Around" isn't about his own love life.

What happened?

Timberlake, 45, cleared up the rumour on the podcast "Re-Rank". "Actually, it's a personal story from a friend," he said.

According to him, the friend told him about a breakup, and that gave him the idea. The song then came together in just under 20 minutes, he said.

He and host Jordan Rose were ranking his top ten hits at the time. Timberlake called this one an all-time favourite.

Why did everyone think it was about Britney?

The song, released in 2006 on the album "FutureSex/LoveSounds", is about a painful breakup after infidelity. The ex-partner then gets cheated on herself.

Timberlake and Britney Spears were a couple from 1999 to 2002, when he was still in the boy band N*SYNC. After they split, he released "Cry Me a River" in 2002, which many people read as a comment on the breakup.

Fans saw "What Goes Around… Comes Around" as a kind of sequel. The video added fuel: it features actress Scarlett Johansson, who looks a little like Spears. Timberlake never confirmed that either song was about her.

What's next?

Nothing official, but the debate probably isn't over. The song's title translates roughly as "everything catches up with you eventually", and fans have had 20 years to build their own theories. One podcast answer may not end that.