Singer Justin Timberlake made his first comments Friday about his recent driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) arrest, when he publicly acknowledged the incident during a performance of his “Forget Tomorrow” world tour.
The artist spoke directly to fans at Chicago’s United Center during what was his first performance since his arrest at the prestigious Long Island vacation destination of The Hamptons three days previously.
Mr. Timberlake told his fans that the last few days had taken their toll on him.
“It’s been a tough week,” the 43-year-old entertainer said. “I know I’m hard to love sometimes but you keep loving me right back.”
It was Mr. Timberlake’s first onstage appearance since his June 18 arrest. Two further appearances are scheduled for this month at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on June 25 and 26.
The June 18 incident saw the singer stopped by local law enforcement as he was driving his gray 2025 BMW in Long Island’s Sag Harbor shortly after midnight.
Officers pulled him over for failing to halt at a stop sign. Court papers indicated that before missing the stop sign, Mr. Timberlake was swerving and appeared unable to stay on the right side of the road.
“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,” the court papers said.
NTD has contacted the Sag Harbor District Attorney’s Office to obtain the documents, but did not receive a reply before this story was published.
Upon being stopped, Mr. Timberlake said he was following friends home after a night out at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor. He admitted to the officer that he had drunk one martini at the venue.
After his arrest, he was taken to a police station in East Hampton. The police said he declined to provide a breathalyzer test.
NTD contacted Sag Harbor Police Department for a statement, but did not receive a response before publication of this article.
Following the incident, Mr. Timberlake was charged for driving while intoxicated, in addition to citations for failure to keep right and failure to stop at a stop sign, the district attorney’s office confirmed.
His first court hearing following his arrest is scheduled for July 26, for which he is expected to make a virtual appearance.
Mr. Timberlake’s lawyer, Ed Burke, weighed in on his client’s arrest on Monday.
“I look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations,” Mr. Burke wrote in an emailed statement to NTD. “I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
