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Justin Timberlake’s 2024 DWI arrest is back in the spotlight after newly released body cam footage shows the pop star’s interaction with police — including the moment he tried to explain exactly who he was.
The footage, first obtained by TMZ, captures Timberlake being pulled over after leaving a night out in Sag Harbor, New York. As officers begin questioning him, the singer offers a casual explanation: “Guys, I’m just following my friends back to my house.”
When asked about his presence in the area, Timberlake replies, “Yeah, I’m on tour … I’m on a world tour.” But when pressed for more clarity, he adds, “It’s hard to explain … umm … I’m Justin Timberlake.”
From there, things quickly escalate.
After asking for his license and registration, officers request that Timberlake step out of the vehicle to ensure he’s “good to drive.” He then undergoes a series of field sobriety tests — which he doesn’t seem thrilled about.
“These are, like, hard tests,” Timberlake says during the evaluation, later adding, “My heart’s racing,” as officers shine a light into his eyes.
Timberlake had been out with designer Estee Stanley and her husband Bryan Furst prior to the stop. In the footage, Stanley appears confused by the situation, at one point asking officers what’s going on and offering to drive instead. Police decline, explaining they need to “make sure” Timberlake wasn’t “operating the vehicle under any kind of impairment.”
Moments later, the situation takes a turn: Timberlake is placed in handcuffs.
When Stanley reacts with shock, an officer tells her bluntly, “He was driving drunk. He failed every single test.” The officer adds that Timberlake will be taken to the station and held until he can see a judge the following morning.
Still stunned, Stanley makes an emotional appeal to the officers: “Can you guys please just do me a favor ’cause you loved ‘Bye Bye Bye’ or ‘Sexyback?’ Do me one favor,” she says, asking if she can give Timberlake his phone.
She is eventually allowed to take the wheel of Timberlake’s car while he’s driven away in police custody.
The footage’s release comes after Timberlake attempted to block it from becoming public. According to court documents obtained by People, the singer argued that releasing the video would be damaging.
“Public dissemination of this footage would cause severe and irreparable harm to [Timberlake’s] personal and professional reputation, subject [Timberlake] to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest,” the petition read.
However, a settlement reached on Friday, March 20, allowed for a redacted version of the footage to be released. The agreement states that the video “does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Sag Harbor Village Police had filed to lift a temporary restraining order in order to make the footage public, with the final agreement permitting the release of edited footage tied to the arrest.
Timberlake was originally arrested on June 18, 2024, and charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, along with citations for running a stop sign and failing to stay in his lane. His attorney, Edward Burke Jr., has maintained that the singer was “not intoxicated” at the time.
By September 2024, Timberlake had reached a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to a lesser offense.
Now, with the footage out in the wild, the moment is no longer just a headline — it’s a full-on replay.
English (US)