Video from Justin Timberlake’s arrest has now been made public, despite the singer attempting to stop it from being released.
Timberlake was taken into custody in September 2024 after police stopped him in Sag Harbor, New York, due to concerns about his driving.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with DWI (driving while intoxicated), a charge he later pleaded guilty to.
After admitting guilt, the ‘Sexyback’ singer was ordered to pay a $500 fine plus a $260 surcharge, complete 25 hours of community service, and serve a 90-day suspension of his driving licence.
In the aftermath, Timberlake’s attorneys filed a petition aimed at preventing law enforcement video from being handed over in response to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.
The legal team argued that releasing the material would amount to “an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”.
However, Timberlake’s lawyers later agreed that a redacted cut of the footage could be shared, and that version was released yesterday (March 20).
In a segment of the video, Timberlake is shown complying with an officer’s instructions to complete field sobriety testing.
One of the assessments administered was the walk-and-turn test, which requires a suspect to take nine heel-to-toe steps along a straight line, pivot on one foot, and take nine steps back, according to Verywell Mind.
Before beginning the test, Timberlake tells officers: “Guys, I’m just following my friends back to my house. Like, I’m not doing anything. I’m just following my friends back to my house.”
An officer then asks whether he will still complete the test, and the ten-time Grammy Award winner goes ahead with it.
Timberlake mentions that he is “a little nervous” as he continues, and officers later conclude he was too impaired to be behind the wheel, leading to his arrest.
Later in the footage, one of Timberlake’s friends is seen appealing to police, saying she would “do anything” to stop him from being taken into custody.
Officers did not change their course of action and proceeded with the arrest.
At one point, the friend attempts to pass Timberlake his cellphone, but police instruct her not to give it to him and tell her to hold onto it instead.
She says: “Can’t you guys just do me a favor because you love ‘Bye Bye Bye’ or like ‘Sexyback’? Like, let me do one favor. Let me ask him if he wants me to give him his phone.”
Timberlake has not publicly commented since the footage was released.