Justin: Have patience for Britney baby pics

Justin Timberlake has told fans of Britney Spears to be patient for photographs of her baby son Sean Preston.

It is the first time Justin has publicly supported the star since their split two years ago.

Photos of Britney, her husband Kevin Federline and the couple's infant son were published online on Friday, but were taken down a couple of hours after her record label, Jive Records, issued a statement threatening legal action.

Justin thinks their publication is crossing the line. "That's her baby and those are her baby pictures," he said.

He referred her as "a sweet person" and said: "Leave the girl alone." He reckons that at some point fans are going to get to know about her son and get to see a picture so he doesn't understand why people can't wait until she's comfortable to do that.

The pictures, taken in a private photo shoot, were allegedly stolen.