Actor and pop singer Justin Timberlake just entered a guilty plea for a lesser offense related to driving under the influence (DUI) charges a few months ago in the Hamptons.
The 43-year-old singer appeared at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court in Long Island and took a plea deal on Friday, Sept. 13. He pled guilty to a lesser charge of driving with impaired ability when he was arrested in June.
According to the arrest report, police spotted a gray 2025 BMW on the road as it moved out of a lane and ran a stop sign, leading the officer to pull Timberlake over on the residential street in the Hamptons lined with expensive cottages and mansions. Police noticed the singer’s eyes appeared to be “bloodshot and glassy” and they smelled alcohol on Timberlake’s breath. After conducting multiple sobriety tests, which he did “poor” on, police arrested Timberlake. He claimed to only have had a single martini and was following a friend home.
A frenzy of paparazzi and fans showed up on Main Street to catch a glimpse of the celebrity outside of the court last month, but Timberlake did not show up in person and instead appeared virtually for the hearing. In that hearing, he pled not guilty to the DUI charge while facing jail time and a $1,000 fine, while his lawyers failed to have the case tossed out.
After his plea deal on Friday, Timberlake issued a public apology for his actions at a press conference. Addressing the reporters, he said that many of them “have probably been covering him” for a lot of his life, adding that he tries to hold himself “to a very high standard” and that his actions in June did not meet that standard. Timberlake said he found himself in a position where he could have “made a different decision” and that he’s taken time to “reflect on that.”
The pop star then addressed those watching and listening and advised that even if they’ve only had a single drink, they should never drive afterward and should instead consider the “many alternatives,” such as calling a friend or taking an Uber.
