After months of legal wrangling, a partially redacted bodycam video ignites memes, debate and renewed scrutiny of the pop star.
The controversial — and highly memeable — police body-camera footage of pop star Justin Timberlake’s arrest for driving under the influence in June 2024 on eastern Long Island was released late last week after a legal battle was waged by the singer against the small former whaling town to keep the “embarrassing” footage under wraps. The dispute led to a negotiated release and the redaction of certain moments that his attorney said were so sensitive they amounted to a major violation of the singer’s privacy.
In June 2024, while visiting the tony beach town of Sag Harbor, Timberlake was pulled over and after a few traffic infractions, was soon arrested on a DUI charge. The singer was asked to perform a sobriety test, questioned by officers while handcuffed at the small town’s precinct, and finally placed in a holding cell alone for the night. Footage of all these moments was made public by the town’s police department on Friday, 21 months after it was sought by several news outlets via Freedom of Information Act requests.
The release of eight hours of footage surrounding the Grammy winner’s arrest was not something the former boy band frontman turned actor — or the team behind his public image — wanted millions of people to see. As soon as the release was announced at the beginning of March, Timberlake’s legal team filed for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the town from making the footage public.
That Monday, his attorneys met with a Sag Harbor judge, arguing that releasing the unedited footage would constitute an invasion of privacy. They requested either a block on the release or a private judicial review of the potentially embarrassing material. From a legal standpoint, they argued, this would ensure that any content not subject to disclosure under New York’s Freedom of Information Law would be excluded.
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Attorney Edward Burke Jr. argued the release would “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal and sensitive details.” He added that it would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to the singer’s reputation by subjecting him to “public ridicule and harassment.” The footage was ultimately released Friday after a heated back-and-forth between the singer’s legal team and the village resulted in an agreement on a partially redacted version.
“Since Justin Timberlake’s arrest, the Village and Police Department have attempted to comply with the mandates of the Freedom of Information Law. We are pleased the litigation regarding the release of video footage related to Mr. Timberlake has been resolved and the Village is able to comply with its statutory obligation to release the material that is subject to disclosure under FOIL,” the law firm of VIncent Toomey said in a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter.
Attorneys representing Timberlake did not return an email and call placed by THR on Monday.
What was released quickly set the internet ablaze over the weekend, as several moments caught fire, became memes or sparked debate. Whether police went too far in their treatment of the pop star — who, in one clip, is seen handcuffed to a table while being questioned — became a point of contention. In the footage, Timberlake himself questions the officers as they assure a baffled singer that this is standard procedure for members of the public accused of taking the serious risk of drunk driving.
“You boys treat me like a criminal,” Timberlake tells two officers. Earlier, when first approached, he said, “I’m on a world tour.”
“A what?” an officer asks.
“A world tour… I’m Justin Timberlake.”
The moment has already become a viral sensation, with online tastemakers revisiting past controversies surrounding the singer — from the fallout of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy to renewed scrutiny following Britney Spears’ bestselling memoir, which reshaped public perceptions of their relationship.
Still, the arrest’s most memorable moments — captured throughout the redacted, Timberlake-approved footage — have already delighted millions as they rapidly spread online.
In another clip, a woman who has not been identified but was with Timberlake rushes up to officers after he is placed in a squad car. Expressing shock, she insists that Timberlake be given his cell phone.
“Stop it. No way. Don’t say it,” she tells the officers. “You’re arresting Justin Timberlake right now? Stop it. Why?” she adds, attempting to get a moment with her friend. “Can you guys please just do me a favor, because you loved ‘Bye Bye Bye’ or ‘SexyBack’?”
During a sobriety test outside his vehicle, Timberlake appears visibly inebriated — though not incapacitated — after being pulled over for drifting into oncoming traffic and missing a stop sign. In what likely sealed his fate that night, body-cam footage shows him unable to complete a simple heel-to-toe, nine-step walk.
Justin Timberlake Teases First New Music in 6 Years with Upcoming Single ‘Selfish’: Listen
The singer shared a preview of his new song on Instagram Friday
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Justin Timberlake is back with new music!
The singer, 42, teased his upcoming single “Selfish,” which marks his first new music as a solo artist in six years following the release of his 2018 album Man in the Woods, on Instagram Friday.
Timberlake shared a snippet of the mid-tempo ballad in a video, which included clips from rehearsals of his intimate gig at The Orpheum in Memphis, Tennessee, where he played an intimate show on Friday evening.
In the post, which he captioned “ONE NIGHT ONLY,” Timberlake stood onstage before the show. The singer also walked through the empty auditorium as he watched his band set up onstage before fans arrived.
Another clip showed Timberlake holding a hat that read, “What’s better than having everything that you dreamed of?”
Timberlake previously shared a video teaser earlier on Friday for “EVERYTHING I THOUGHT IT WAS,” which is suspected to be his forthcoming album.
“Justin Timberlake Presents: “EVERYTHING I THOUGHT IT WAS” Preface by Benicio Del Toro,” Timberlake wrote in his caption. In the clip, which was filmed in mock movie trailer-style, Del Toro, 56, provides a hilarious voiceover as he describes what is shown in the teaser.
“What do we have here?” the actor — who appeared with Timberlake in the 2023 Netflix film Reptile — says at the beginning of the clip, as a model car then appears in the shot.
“Oh, that’s a nice car — wait, it’s a model. Did that say, ‘JT?’ ” Del Toro asks, before a shot of a sunset then appears. “OK, that sunset is definitely not real,” he adds.
The camera then pans out to show Timberlake standing with his back turned. “Oh, there is Justin,” Del Toro says. “Why won’t he turn around? What the f— is he staring at?” he adds as the clip abruptly ends with horror-style music.
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In another post shared on Friday, Timberlake confirmed that he will be appearing on Saturday Night Live on Jan. 27, alongside Dakota Johnson, who will serve as host.
Timberlake released his fifth studio album Man of the Woods on Feb. 2, 2018. Off of the album, he released four singles: “Filthy,” “Supplies,” “Say Something” featuring Chris Stapleton and “Man of the Woods.”
In September 2023, the singer also released his first song in over 20 years with *NSYNC when the band reunited on the record “Better Place” for the film Trolls Band Together.
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