Singer Justin Timberlake has faced – and survived – a number of scandals over the years and now he’s got his work cut out emerging unscathed from another one.
The former *NSYNC singer was arrested and charged with drink driving after he was pulled over at about 12.30 am on Tuesday, June 18 in The Hamptons, where the rich and famous on the east coast of the USA go to play. He was photographed handcuffed and bleary-eyed being led from the police station to the courthouse and his mug shot was released.
According to a police report, he was pulled over after cops saw him driving erratically, running a red light and swerving onto the wrong side of the road. He reportedly failed a field sobriety test and refused to submit to a breathalyzer.
Legal experts tip he will get away with just a slap on the wrist for the driving charges, but the fallout for him professionally not to mention personally could be far worse.
His wife of almost 12 years Jessica Biel, and mother to their two children Silas, 9, and Phineas, 3, was just a few hours away in Manhattan filming a new movie The Better Sister. Only days ago Just days before his DUI, Biel posted a touching tribute to Timberlake on Father’s Day. “You’re so many things to so many people. But to us you are THE ROCK.”
Timberlake addressed the incident for the first time during a concert in Chicago three days after his arrest.
“It’s been a tough week,” the star told the crowd. “I know I’m hard to love sometimes but you keep loving me right back.”
The star’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr, had earlier said in a statement to NBC News that the allegations would be defended.
“I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations,” he said. “I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
Over the years, Timberlake has been beset by a series of scandals yet has always emerged relatively unscathed.
It was Janet Jackson who bore the brunt of “Nipplegate” when her breast was exposed during the Super Bowl 2004. When he split with then-girlfriend Britney Spears, he came off as the wronged party.
At the time, Spears faced accusations of cheating but the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary in 2021, lifted the lid on his treatment of her during their relationship in the noughties. In 2023, Spears also levelled a number of accusations against him in her memoir The Woman In Me.
