The encounter, captured by a police officer\u2019s body camera, shows the moments leading up to Timberlake\u2019s arrest on June 18, 2024, on a charge of drunken driving. The camera footage, which shows the singer undergoing a series of sobriety tests on the roadside and talking with two officers while in custody at a local police station, was released by Sag Harbor on Friday, weeks after Timberlake sued to stop the footage from being made public.<\/p>\n
The release is the outcome of a settlement between Sag Harbor and Timberlake, who argued earlier this month in his suit that the availability of the footage would have humiliated him and constituted an unwarranted invasion of his privacy.<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Justin Timberlake reveals Lyme disease diagnosisOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n The settlement follows a lengthy legal back-and-forth that delayed the release of the footage, which has been the topic of intense tabloid interest since Timberlake\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n The encounter, which began when an officer pulled Timberlake over for driving through a stop sign and weaving out of a lane, went viral online after police noted that the singer had mumbled that the arrest would ruin his world tour. (Timberlake was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden later that month and the arrest generated torrents of internet memes mocking his apparent comments.)<\/p>\n Timberlake pleaded guilty in September 2024 to a low-level charge of driving while impaired, avoiding a more serious charge. He agreed to pay a $500 fine and serve 25 hours of community service at a charity of his choosing.<\/p>\n Lawyers for Timberlake, Edward Burke Jr and Michael J. Del Piano, could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday. Nor could the Law Office of Vincent Toomey, which represented Sag Harbor in the proceedings.<\/p>\n The footage released Friday, some of which was published by TMZ and several other outlets, was redacted before its release and does not include a clip of Timberlake complaining about the tour. It was not immediately clear Saturday what exactly was removed from the recordings.<\/p>\n One 19-minute video, which begins with the traffic stop, depicts a glassy-eyed and slurring Timberlake alternating between disbelief, annoyance and occasional humour as he is arrested and taken to a police station.<\/p>\n In one part of the video, Timberlake stands on the road behind his car as an officer asks him to complete a series of sobriety tests. The singer can be seen struggling to maintain his balance as he attempts to walk in a straight line. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m a little nervous,\u201d he says to the two officers standing with him. A few moments later, after another test, he adds: \u201cBy the way these are, like, really hard tests.\u201d<\/p>\n After Timberlake is handcuffed, a woman who was with him approaches the officers and appears shocked as they inform her of his arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cStop it. No way. Don\u2019t say it,\u201d the woman says. \u201cYou\u2019re arresting Justin Timberlake right now? Stop it. Why?\u201d After Timberlake is seated in the patrol car, the woman asks the officers to let her speak with him.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you guys please just do me a favour because you loved \u2018Bye Bye Bye\u2019 or \u2018SexyBack\u2019?\u201d she pleads, referring to two of Timberlake\u2019s most famous songs.<\/p>\n In another snippet of video obtained by the Associated Press, Timberlake can be seen seated at a booth in the police station. \u201cYou boys treat me like I\u2019m a criminal,\u201d he says to the two officers in the room. He adds a little later that he had only \u201cone martini\u201d and was following his friends home.<\/p>\n Soon after, while reading a report with details about his arrest, Timberlake makes an apparent joke about his race. \u201cWhite?!\u201d he quips in feigned disbelief, presumably referring to a description of his race on the report, before chuckling and saying, \u201cI\u2019m just kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n The saga over the footage\u2019s release has been ongoing since March 1 when the Sag Harbor police department notified Timberlake\u2019s lawyer that it planned to release eight hours of body camera footage related to his arrest, according to court documents.<\/p>\n The release was in response to a public records request, the department said, and would include certain redactions to the footage, documents show.<\/p>\n Brendan O\u2019Reilly, the digital editor of The Express News Group, a local newspaper publisher that had requested the footage, said his outlet first asked for it the day after Timberlake\u2019s arrest, but that its release was repeatedly delayed by the singer\u2019s lawyers and local officials.<\/p>\n According to court documents, Timberlake\u2019s lawyers submitted a written statement opposing the release after being notified by the police department of its intentions on March 1, but police refused his request.<\/p>\n The next day, Timberlake\u2019s legal team filed an emergency order in Suffolk County State Supreme Court against Sag Harbor, its police department and its police chief seeking to block the footage\u2019s dissemination. The videos, they argued, showed Timberlake in an \u201cacutely vulnerable state\u201d and releasing them would subject the singer to \u201cpublic ridicule\u201d and irreparably harm his reputation.<\/p>\n On March 5, the judge in the case, Joseph Farneti, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the release without a court order. But weeks later, on Friday, he lifted the order after Timberlake reviewed the footage and the parties reached an agreement.<\/p>\n The footage was published by several news outlets soon after.<\/p>\n This article originally appeared in The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/7PQPAHNVE5KGZ364Z2HN22ZQRQ.jpg\")
Justin Timberlake was fined by a court after pleading guilty to impaired driving. Photograph: AP Photo\/Pamela Smith <\/p>\n![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/QKPUXJSION7YLCWRVS6IK5V6TU.jpg\")
Justin Timberlake. Photograph: AP Photo\/Pamela Smith <\/p>\n