Justin Timberlake charged with drink driving in New York
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Justin Timberlake has been charged with drink driving after police pulled over the “glassy-eyed” singer in New York.
He is reported to have spent Monday night in police custody after attempting to drive home from a party in the Hamptons, an affluent area of Long Island. He was released the following day.
A mugshot of the singer staring ahead, in which his eyes appeared to be bloodshot, was released by Sag Harbor Police Department on Tuesday.
The incident looks likely to disrupt the pop star’s first world tour in six years.
Timberlake, a married father of two, appeared in court on Tuesday and was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated.
He is due to appear in court again on July 26, on the same day the singer is scheduled to begin the European leg of his world tour in Krakow, Poland.
Timberlake, 43, had been at a party at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor when officers spotted him in a grey BMW swerving across the road and ignoring a stop sign shortly after midnight, according to entertainment website TMZ.
The Cry Me a River singer reportedly refused to take a breathalyser test, insisting he had only “had one martini” before getting into the car.
The officer who pulled him over said Timberlake’s eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” while a “strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath”, according to court documents cited by US media.
He appeared to be in “an intoxicated condition” and “performed poorly on all standard field sobriety tests”, the court documents continued.
“I had one martini and I followed my friends home,” Timberlake allegedly told the officer.
He was said to have been handcuffed and arrested, with the incident captured on officers’ body cameras.
A source told the Daily Mail: “Justin was out to dinner with friends and there were cop cars stationed outside the restaurant like there are most nights.
“They look for people who are leaving after midnight who might have been drinking.”
‘Plethora of alcohol references’
A day before Timberlake’s arrest, his wife, actress Jessica Biel, praised him as their family’s “rock” and said she would try to keep him “eternally grounded”.
In a podcast with Oprah Winfrey in 2018, the pop star claimed to have drunk an entire bottle of whisky after performing at a concert with the Rolling Stones.
Timberlake’s 2013 song, Drink You Away, is about attempting to drown out the memory of a failed relationship through heavy drinking.
One reviewer noted that it makes a “plethora of alcohol references”, including Jack Daniels and Jim Beam.
Weaker than expected sales
The pop star is due to perform at two concerts in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, and another two in New York the following week, as part of his first world tour in six years to support his album Everything I Thought It Was.
Timberlake was once among the most prominent male stars in American music, but his most recent release has been met with a mixed critical reception.
It became his first solo release to miss a number one place on the charts since Justified was released in 2002 amid weaker than expected sales.
His first appearance in Britain is scheduled for Aug 7 in Birmingham, before a concert in Manchester and two further dates in London. He is then scheduled to return to the US and finish the tour in Indiana in December.
Timberlake’s lawyer Edward Burke Jr said on Wednesday: “I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations.
“I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
