Social media users are accusing John Mayer of being a hypocrite after he spoke out in support of Britney Spears — and they’re demanding that he apologize to women he’s hurt in the past.
Appearing on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show ‘Radio Andy’ this week, the 43-year-old singer said that he ‘almost cried five times’ while watching the New York Times documentary ‘Framing Britney Spears.’
But Twitter users have no patience for his tears, pointing out that he ‘has repeatedly treated women like s***’ and observing that it’s ironic that he would speak out on this issue given his past treatment of stars like Jessica Simpson and Taylor Swift.
Uh-oh! Social media users are accusing John Mayer of being a hypocrite after he spoke out in support of Britney Spears
Guest: He appeared on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show ‘Radio Andy’ this week
Must-see TV: The 43-year-old singer said that he ‘almost cried five times’ while watching the New York Times documentary ‘Framing Britney Spears’
‘Framing Britney Spears’ has a lot of viewers looking at Britney — and, in particular, her treatment by the media and the public in the late ’90s and 2000s — in a new light.
Many have expressed sympathy for the pop icon, and have called out those who have mistreated her over the years, from her father to her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake.
Several stars have tweeted their support of the #FreeBritney movement, which aims to end her conservatorship — and now Mayer has thrown his opinion into the public sphere.
‘I almost cried five times during that,’ he said of the documentary. ‘I mean, I was on the edge of tears five times, because if you understand what this business/industry/lifestyle does to a person — to go through this and come out the other side OK, is to have infinite grace for those who struggle with it.
‘I came out OK … I have a very strong feeling that part of that is because I’m a man,’ he added in a moment of self-reflection.
‘And I have a very strong feeling that a lot of these things that happen to female performers is endemic to being female.’
Not you! Since the show aired, Twitter users have been wholly unimpressed by John’s take, accusing him of being a ‘hypocrite’
But since the show aired, Twitter users have been wholly unimpressed by John’s take, accusing him of being a ‘hypocrite.’
‘Oh man. I definitely wanted to know what a man who has repeatedly treated women like s*** thought about a documentary about Britney Spears,’ wrote one.
‘I’m genuinely having a difficult time thinking of someone whose opinion on this I want to hear less,’ said another.
‘The levels of irony here are off the charts,’ wrote yet another, while one more quipped: ‘The level of self-reflection is zero.’
Some were frustrated that the ‘Your Body is a Wonderland’ singer seemed to make the plight of female stars about himself.
‘”Female trauma! how can I make this about me?” is john mayer’s whole personality,’ wrote one.
Mostly, many people complained that John owes several women in Hollywood an apology, starting with Jessica Simpson.
‘Anyway, read Jessica Simpson’s memoir if you want to know what this dude is like,’ wrote one.
Ex-girlfriend: Mostly, many people complained that John owes several women in Hollywood an apology, starting with Jessica Simpson
In the past: In her new memoir, Jessica described their relationship as a stressful, manipulative one
John and Jessica started dating in the summer of 2006 and were together for nearly a year.
Jessica recently opened up about their time together in her memoir, ‘Open Book,’ describing a tumultuous relationship that chipped away at her self esteem.
‘I constantly worried that I wasn’t smart enough for him,’ she wrote. ‘He was so clever and treated conversation like a friendly competition that he had to win.’
She said John told her he was ‘obsessed’ with her ‘sexually and emotionally,’ but they had an ‘unhealthy and manipulative’ relationship.
He broke up with her on several occasions, including over email.
‘Sometimes it was out of the blue, other times I knew it was coming, because my light would start to go dim. John loved me when I was shining, and he’d draw strength and inspiration to write from that light,’ she wrote.
Once, he told her it was over via email just hours before she was set to perform ‘9 to 5’ on stage at a Dolly Parton tribute concert — and then called her moments before she took the stage, ultimately leading her to botch the performance.
They remember: Fans in particular recall when John described their sex life in a Playboy interview
The final blow for Jessica came in 2010, when John described their sex life in an interview with Playboy.
‘Sexually it was crazy. That’s all I’ll say,’ he said. ‘It was like napalm, sexual napalm. Did you ever say, “I want to quit my life and just f***ing snort you? If you charged me $10,000 to f*** you, I would start selling all my s*** just to keep f***ing you.’
Though he later apologized, Jessica didn’t accept it.
‘It made me so sad, and it was really discouraging because that’s not the John that I knew,’ she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
‘I hope he gets his life together. He did apologize. I don’t accept it. It’s just one of those things that … I don’t resent him. I’m just going to let that go. That part of my life is over.’
Yikes! Several more said it’s about time he apologize to Taylor Swift, whom he briefly dated in 2009 when she was 19 and he was 32.
Not a good memory: In 2010, Taylor released the song ‘Dear John,’ which is ostensibly about their relationship
Several more said it’s about time he apologize to Taylor Swift, whom he briefly dated in 2009 when she was 19 and he was 32.
‘Taylor Swift still isn’t as old as John Mayer was when he dated her while she was a teenager,’ one pointed out.
‘Love to hear about this from the expert at sorry and keeping lines blurry never impressed with her acing his tests all the girls that he’s run dry have tired lifeless eyes cause he burned them out,’ said one more, quoting Taylor Swift lyrics.
In 2010, Taylor released the song ‘Dear John,’ which is ostensibly about their relationship.
In the lyrics, Taylor sing: ‘Dear John, I see it all, now it was wrong / Don’t you think nineteen is too young / To be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so?
‘”I should’ve known” / Well maybe it’s me and my blind optimism to blame /Maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love then take it away / And you’ll add my name to your long list of traitors who don’t understand / And I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said “run as fast as you can.”‘
‘Taylor Swift still isn’t as old as John Mayer was when he dated her while she was a teenager,’ one pointed out
After the song was released, John insisted he wasn’t the bad guy it painted him as.
‘It made me feel terrible,’ he told Rolling Stone, dismissing the tune as ‘cheap songwriting’. ‘Because I didn’t deserve it. I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do.’
When the magazine asked him directly about Taylor’s claim that she was too young for him, he replied: ‘I don’t want to go into that.’
And while he claimed to be upset about her song about him, it didn’t stop him from writing his own songs that seemingly referenced her; fans have speculated that 2013’s Paper Doll takes digs at Taylor.
John also dated Jennifer Aniston from 2008 to 2009 — and, once again, made some hurtful comments about her after they split
John also dated Jennifer Aniston from 2008 to 2009. Once again, made some hurtful comments about her after they split, implying that eight-years-older Jen was too old for him.
‘I’ll always be sorry that it didn’t last,’ he told Playboy. ‘In some ways I wish I could be with her. But I can’t change the fact that I need to be 32.’
‘If Jennifer Aniston knows how to use BitTorrent, I’ll eat my f***ing shoe,’ he said.
‘One of the most significant differences between us was that I was tweeting. There was a rumor that I had been dumped because I was tweeting too much. That wasn’t it, but that was a big difference.’
‘The brunt of her success came before TMZ and Twitter. I think she’s still hoping it goes back to 1998. She saw my involvement in technology as courting distraction.’
Later, Jen griped to Vogue that John seemed intent to make sure the world knew that it was him that broke up with her.