Justin Timberlake Breaks His Silence After DWI Plea Deal: 'This Is A Mistake That I Made'
After taking a plea deal for his DWI arrest, Justin Timberlake is admitting to his mistake.
"I could have made a different decision ... even if you've had one drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car ... this is a mistake that I made" -- Justin Timberlake pic.twitter.com/488QhRQMUF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 13, 2024
Timberlake was sentenced to 25 to 40 hours of community service Friday, per the 'New York Post,' as he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge — driving while alcohol impaired, a non-criminal offense, in his Hamptons drunk-driving case.
The 43-year-old spoke outside of the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on Friday morning after Justice Carl Irace required him to do so.
"Many of you have been covering me for a lot of my life, and as you may know, I try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself. And, this was not that. This was not that," he started.
"I found myself in a position where I could've made a different decision. But I've had some time to reflect on that, and, I also understand the fact that all of you here have a platform, I have a platform, we share that platform," the former NSYNC singer added.
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"So what I'd like to say to everyone watching and listening, even if you've had one drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car. There's so many alternatives — call a friend, take an Uber, there's many travel apps," Timberlake continued. "Still, take a taxi. This is a mistake I made, but I'm hoping whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake."
He concluded: "I certainly have."
The 43-year-old had initially been charged with drunken driving, in which he pled not guilty, after police claimed he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane in Sag Harbor on June 18, per 'NBC 4.'
Court documents show he was driving a 2025 BMW around 12:30 a.m. when he was stopped by an officer who deemed him intoxicated.
"His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests," court documents claimed of the 10x Grammy Award winner.
Edward Burke Jr., Timberlake's attorney, insisted that the "SexyBack" singer was not drunk when he was pulled over.
On July 26, Burke told reporters how "Justin should not have been arrested for driving while intoxicated. The police made a number of very significant errors in this case."
Timberlake, who is married to actress Jessica Biel and is the father of two children, also agreed to pay a minimal fine.
