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Justin Timberlake is suing to block the release of police body-camera footage from his impaired-driving arrest in New York’s Hamptons in 2024.
The pop star’s lawyers argued in a lawsuit filed Monday against the village of Sag Harbor and its police department that release of the video would “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal and sensitive details.”
They also said it 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 reads.
Justin Timberlake was arrested on New York’s Long Island after running through a stop sign and operating a vehicle ‘in an intoxicated condition,’ according to police. Culture critics say this could impact his public image.
A judge didn’t immediately rule following a Monday hearing in state court in Riverhead, N.Y., according to Vincent Toomey, a lawyer for Sag Harbor.
Instead, Judge Joseph Farneti asked the two sides to confer on a possible resolution and report back later in the week, he said.
Timberlake’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The NSYNC singer-turned-solo artist and actor pleaded guilty to impaired driving in September 2024.
Police said he ran a stop sign in the village centre, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol that June.
The Tennessee native told officers he had had one martini and had been following some friends home in Sag Harbor, a former whaling village among the affluent beach towns of the Hamptons, some 160 kilometres east of New York City.
Timberlake agreed to give a public safety announcement against the perils of drunk driving as part of the plea deal that knocked down his initial misdemeanor charge to a noncriminal traffic violation.
He was also sentenced to a $500 US fine, 25 hours of community service and a 90-day suspension of his licence.
“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.”
In their suit, Timberlake’s lawyers say they were notified Sunday that village officials intended to release some of the footage, with certain redactions, to comply with public records requests.
They say the total footage runs roughly eight hours and includes Timberlake’s initial stop, police questioning, the administration of field-sobriety tests and his arrest.
The Associated Press was among several media outlets that filed a records request seeking the release of the video.
Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella said village officials have carefully 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.
Pop star Justin Timberlake, speaking outside a Sag Harbor, N.Y., courthouse, said he’s learned from his mistake and urged people not to drink and drive. ‘Even one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of the car.’
