Pop star Justin Timberlake is used to being in videos, but is fighting the release of a video showing his arrest in 2024.
Timberlake’s lawyers filed a lawsuit Monday against the village of Sag Harbor and its police department. They are seeking to block the release of police body camera footage from his drunken driving arrest in New York’s Hamptons in 2024, per NewsNation.
The lawyers argued the video’s release lwould “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal, and sensitive details.”
The lawyers also allege releasing the video would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to his reputation by subjecting him to “public ridicule and harassment.”
“The footage at issue depicts Petitioner in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement, capturing intimate details of Petitioner’s physical appearance, demeanor, speech, and conduct during field sobriety testing, the subsequent arrest, and Petitioner’s confinement following arrest over the next several hours,” the lawsuit read.
Judge Joseph Farneti asked the two sides to seek a possible resolution and report back later in the week.
Timberlake, a singer with NSYNC who turned into a solo artist and actor, pleaded guilty to impaired driving in September 2024. Police said he ran a stop sign in the village center and veered out of his lane. Police said he smelledof alcohol when got out of his BMW.
He told officers he had had one martini and had been following some friends home in Sag Harbor.
As part of his plea deal, Timberlake agreed to give a public safety announcement against the perils of drunken driving. This knocked down his initial misdemeanor charge to a noncriminal traffic violation.
He was also sentenced to a $500 fine, 25 hours of community service and a 90-day suspension of his license.
“Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” Timberlake said following his court appearance. “This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
Timberlake’s lawyers said in the lawsuit they were notified Sunday that village officials intended to release some of the footage — with certain redactions — to comply with public records requests.
The total footage runs about eight hours and includes Timberlake’s initial stop, police questioning, the administration of field sobriety tests and his arrest.
Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella said village officials have reviewed the footage to ensure nothing would be released that could put police or the public at risk.
“We’re trying to be as transparent as can be with this footage,” he said, noting that the state’s public records law generally requires release of police body camera footage.
