Justin Timberlake knows he's “hard to love” sometimes, but he thanked his fans in the Windy City on Friday for doing it anyway, addressing his recent arrest in the Hamptons and subsequent charge of driving while intoxicated in public for the first time. time.
Apparently his arrest Tuesday in New York didn't “ruin” his world tour after all.
The Grammy and Emmy winner, 43, gave a short but emotional speech Friday night at Chicago's United Center, the final stop on his Forget Tomorrow world tour, as seen in released concert footage on social networks. As the boisterous crowd cheered him on, the former 'N Sync frontman seemingly humbled himself in front of the sold-out stadium.
“We have been together through ups and downs, lefts and rights. And it has been a difficult week. But you are here and I am here. Nothing can change this moment right now,” the singer said as he held an acoustic guitar and bowed before his adoring fans. “I know it's hard to love me sometimes, but you keep loving me and I love you back. Thank you so much.”
“Now, if you allow me, I would like to sing a little with you,” he added, before launching into the show.
The “Can't Stop the Feeling” singer was arrested on Long Island after Sag Harbor police saw his gray 2025 BMW UT run a stop sign and struggle to stay in its lane. Police who detained him shortly after 12:30 a.m. alleged that the singer's eyes “were bloodshot and glassy” and that “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanated from his breath.”
A mugshot of singer Justin Timberlake taken after his arrest on June 18 in Sag Harbor, New York, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
(Sag Harbor Police Department)
“[H]“He was unable to divide attention, had slower speech, was staggering, and performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” according to court documents obtained by The Times. The “Rock Your Body” singer was booked and held overnight in jail, where his mugshot was taken. He was arraigned hours later in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on the eastern tip of Long Island, the Suffolk County district attorney's office confirmed to The Times. He pleaded not guilty, the New York Times reported.
Spokespeople for Timberlake and his attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Los Angeles Times.
In surveillance footage obtained by CNN, a car matching the police description of Timberlake's vehicle could be seen passing the stop sign near where Timberlake was arrested, but did not appear to be swerving in the clip.
The “Social Network” and “Trolls” actor had been having dinner and drinks with friends at the American Hotel and was detained about a mile away, where he told police officers he had only had a martini before follow your friends home. He refused to submit to a breathalyzer test three times and performed “poorly” on field sobriety tests, police said.
Page Six, citing anonymous sources, reported that the police officer who arrested the singer “was so young he didn't even know” who the 10-time Grammy winner was. Another source told the outlet that when he was stopped, “Justin said quietly, 'This is going to ruin the tour.' The policeman replied: 'What's the point?' Justin said, “The world tour.” The comment went viral on Tuesday and, along with Timberlake's mug shot, instantly became a meme.
At the police station, where he spent the night, he handed over his wedding ring, his phone, his baseball cap, his watch and his wallet, as well as a vaporizer and green and blue papers, the kind used to roll marijuana, according to reports. the New York Times. Times.
“He was freaking out and stayed up all night when he was in custody,” a source told People on Friday. “He insists he only had one drink and it wasn't a wild night.”
Timberlake was charged with misdemeanor drunk driving because he refused to take a breathalyzer test when he was pulled over, Timberlake's attorney, Eddie Burke Jr., told Us Weekly. The singer also received two citations, one for running a stop sign and the other for failing to travel in the correct lane, Burke said.
He was released on parole; no bail was set. His next court date will be July 26, the same day he is scheduled to be in Krakow, Poland, on his Forget Tomorrow tour. Timberlake's arrest came during a brief break in the tour, which stopped in Los Angeles last month and runs through December.
He has kept a low profile since the incident. His attorney told TMZ on Wednesday that he and the singer look forward to “vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations.” He will have a lot to say at the right time.” The outlet also reported that the musician, who has no prior arrest record, does not plan to enter a rehab facility, a proactive move that celebrities often use to look good in front of a judge and reach a better deal with prosecutors in alcohol matter. – or drug-related legal incidents.
His comments Friday in Chicago marked the first time Timberlake publicly acknowledged the arrest since it occurred.
After releasing his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” in March, the hitmaker kicked off his Forget Tomorrow world tour in April. The tour is scheduled to continue in Chicago on Saturday before playing New York's Madison Square Garden on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The musician landed in hot water last year amid revelations in “The Woman in Me,” his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears' explosive memoir, that she had an abortion at Timberlake's behest while they were dating around the turn of the century. Timberlake's connection to Spears also came under scrutiny in 2021 when a documentary series about her long conservatorship reviewed the media's treatment of the embattled pop princess, which included accepting her interpretation of their breakup.
Timberlake, now the father of two children with actress Jessica Biel, received a lot of criticism during that time, prompting a public apology to Spears and her 2004 Super Bowl co-star Janet Jackson, who acknowledged that he “fell short” and benefited from “a system that tolerates misogyny and racism.”
In the wake of Timberlake's arrest, Spears' fans rallied to send her 2011 song “Criminal,” believed to be an allusion to her relationship with Timberlake, back on the charts. Her fans had some success with that effort in January, when they made a splash in digital music to dethrone Timberlake's new single, “Selfish,” by streaming his 13-year-old song of the same name.
The swaggering showman is reportedly having a harder time landing roles in Hollywood lately, Page Six reported, and is facing lackluster sales for his tour and latest album, which fell off the Billboard 200 chart after four weeks.
“The album didn't do very well and I don't see Justin getting any big acting roles right now,” a Hollywood source told the outlet earlier this week.
“He's got a bit of an ego,” another industry expert added. “His golden boy image is definitely worn out.”
Meanwhile, hotel owner American told TMZ that Timberlake would be welcome any time because he was a model customer, “a great guest and a good guy.”
Likewise, “CBS Mornings” host Gayle King defended the musician on air Wednesday, saying that Timberlake is “a really great guy” and adding that the incident was “clearly a mistake” and that she bets “nobody knows.” more than him”. .”
“He's not an irresponsible person, he's not reckless, he's not careless,” King said. “This is clearly not a good thing, he knows that.”
Other celebrities have spoken out against the singer or come to his defense. Comedian Ricky Gervais used the viral news as a way to promote his own brand of vodka on X. But singer Billy Joel, who was seen at the American Hotel after Timberlake's arrest, told a New York news station: “Do not judge, for not being judged”. .”
On TikTok, footage of Timberlake's May tour stop in Las Vegas began circulating, with users commenting on the singer's reddish eyes while he performed in the clip and speculating whether that was a precursor to his arrest in Sag Harbor. .
