Photo Credit: The Sag Harbor Express / 27East
Footage of Justin Timberlake’s June 2024 traffic stop, field sobriety test, and subsequent arrest was released despite his legal efforts to block it.
On Friday, Justin Timberlake’s June 2024 DWI arrest footage was released despite the former *NSYNC star’s legal attempt to block it. The footage’s release came after Timberlake reached a settlement with the Sag Harbor Village Police Department and local officials. He agreed that a redacted version of the body cam footage could be released, court documents reveal.
The video begins with officers approaching Timberlake’s vehicle while he’s still inside. The 45-year-old singer is seen telling police, “I’m on a world tour,” when asked if he’s visiting the area. “It’s hard to explain,” he says. “I’m Justin Timberlake.”
It’s immediately apparent that his name will carry no weight in the matter. The officer asks Timberlake for his license and vehicle registration before telling him to exit the vehicle to make sure he’s “good to drive.” Timberlake remarks on the series of sobriety tests and is heard saying, “These are, like, hard tests.”
Timberlake explains during the video that he was “just following my friends back to my house,” having left the American Hotel and restaurant in Long Island, NY, in his car.
He was following designer Estee Stanley and her husband Bryan Furst, who were in their own vehicle. Stanley is seen asking the officer what’s going on, and later offers to drive when police express concern about Timberlake’s sobriety. One officer then handcuffs Timberlake while the other asks Stanley if she has a way to get home.
“At this point, he’s coming with us,” the officer says of Timberlake.
Stanley expresses surprise and asks why, to which the officer explains that he “was driving drunk. He failed every single test.” The officer then tells her it’s a “private matter,” and that Timberlake will be at the Sag Harbor police station until the judge can see him in the morning.
Stanley also makes an attempt to use Timberlake’s fame to his advantage, asking the officers, “Can you guys please just do me a favor, ‘cause you loved ‘Bye Bye Bye’ or ‘SexyBack?’ Do me one favor.” She asks if she can give Timberlake his phone, and is then given permission to drive his car home while he leaves the scene in custody.
Timberlake was arrested on a DWI charge after initially being charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and two citations: one for running a stop sign and one for failure to stay in the lane. He reached a plea deal in September 2024, in which he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense.
Earlier this month, the singer filed a petition to block the release of the police body cam footage, alleging that releasing the footage would invade his privacy. The redacted version that was released to the public is therefore one that he agreed did “not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
