Justin Timberlake, the renowned singer and actor, has been arrested for driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office confirmed Timberlake’s arrest on Tuesday in Sag Harbor. He was arraigned in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court later that morning.
Sag Harbor, a popular summer destination for affluent New Yorkers, witnessed the incident. Timberlake’s representatives have not yet commented on the matter. According to the Sag Harbor Police Department, an officer pulled Timberlake over in a 2025 BMW just after 12:30 am local time. He was observed driving through a stop sign without stopping and failing to maintain his lane.
Upon investigation, it was determined that Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition. Timberlake was held overnight and released after his 9:30 am arraignment. The 43-year-old is currently on the North American leg of his “Forget Tomorrow” World Tour, promoting his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” released in March. He recently performed in Miami and is scheduled to perform in Chicago and New York City in the coming days.
Timberlake was driving a 2025 BMW a little after midnight on Tuesday when he ignored a stop sign and failed to stay in his lane, according to a Sag Harbor Police Department news release. The police officer who stopped him found that he was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition. Timberlake appeared in court Tuesday morning and was later released from police custody. He is due for a virtual court hearing on July 26, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., declined to comment, and other representatives for Timberlake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The entertainer has admitted to excessive drinking in the past. In 2019, he apologized in a now-deleted Instagram post for his strong lapse in judgment after a video showed him stumbling while holding hands with “Palmer” co-star Alisha Wainwright. He admitted to drinking too much that night and regretted his behavior.
In a 2014 interview revisited in “Oprah’s Master Class: The Podcast,” Timberlake mentioned that he once drank a whole bottle of whiskey after a set where audience members threw bottles at him and the other performers onstage. Timberlake rallied against drunken driving in 2002, according to the Associated Press. After a fan was killed by a pickup truck while waiting to see him, the performer said in a statement that the tragedy demonstrated the horrors of drunk driving.
Timberlake first rose to fame as a child star, notably on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” alongside Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, and Christina Aguilera. He dominated pop music in the late 1990s and early 2000s with hits such as “Bye Bye Bye” and “I Want You Back” as part of NSYNC, before pursuing a solo career in 2002.
SAG HARBOR, N.Y. — Justin Timberlake claimed he had just one martini before he was pulled over, failed field sobriety tests, and was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving early Tuesday in the affluent Hamptons area of Long Island, police said. The pop superstar, identified as a 43-year-old Franklin, Tennessee, resident in the criminal complaint, was arraigned and released without having to post bail about nine hours after his arrest, police said. Timberlake pleaded not guilty and was ordered to appear in court on July 26, officials said.
Timberlake was behind the wheel of a gray Florida-registered BMW when he was stopped a little after 12:15 a.m. near Madison Street and Middle Line Highway, initially for driving through a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road, according to the criminal complaint. But once police spoke to Timberlake, they said it was clear the motorist was not in shape to drive, according to the complaint written by Sag Harbor Village police officer Michael Arkinson.
It was ascertained that the defendant was operating said vehicle in an intoxicated condition in that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests, Arkinson wrote. Timberlake struggled to walk heel-to-toe and stand on one foot without swaying or using arms to balance, the report said.
The officer quoted Timberlake as saying: “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.” He also declined to be tested for impairment, allegedly telling police, “No, I’m not doing a chemical test.” A refusal can be introduced at trial to establish conscious evidence of guilt, NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said. It is the predicate for a revocation of driving privileges.
Timberlake had dined at The American Hotel in the Hamptons community of Sag Harbor and then headed to a friend’s house when he was pulled over by police, a source close to the musician said. The American Hotel boasts an extensive wine list that includes dozens of four-digit offerings. Timberlake is set to play in Chicago on Friday and Saturday before playing Madison Square Garden in New York City next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Just a day before his arrest, Timberlake’s wife, actor Jessica Biel, gushed about “the rock” of their family, pledging to keep her husband “eternally grounded and warm.” Biel’s loving words stand in stark contrast to the backlash Timberlake has faced from fans of former girlfriend Britney Spears. Timberlake, who rose to fame in the pop group ‘N Sync, was not portrayed flatteringly in Spears’ memoir from last year, “The Woman in Me.” The pair, who first met as kids on the set of “The Mickey Mouse Club,” dated from 1999 to 2002. Spears wrote that she had an abortion after getting pregnant by Timberlake and accused him of cheating on her a couple of times.
In January, Spears apologized on social media for offending anyone with her memoir and complimented Timberlake on his latest single. Days later at a show in New York City, Timberlake kicked off another round of online criticism by saying he’d like to take this opportunity to apologize — to absolutely f—ing nobody.
