Once again, Justin Timberlake is showing us why he is, as he once described himself, “hard to love.”
The singer, who was busted for drunk driving in Sag Harbor 2024 and pleaded down to a lesser charge of driving while impaired, is now suing the village — an attempt to prevent police bodycam footage of the arrest from being made public after members of the media filed a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request for its release.
In the lawsuit, Timberlake’s attorney argued “disclosure of this footage would constitute an unwarranted invasion” of the singer’s privacy.
Court documents also say the video could also do “severe and irreparable harm” to Timberlake’s “personal and professional reputation” and subject the singer to “public ridicule and harassment.”
Cry. Me. A. River.
He knows he’ll look like a first-class fool because he refused a breathalyzer and, reportedly, complained to the officer that an arrest would “ruin” his world tour.
There is an alternative to all this, but it would require humility.
Fighting the video’s release brings far more attention to its existence. It also underscores Timberlake’s staggering self-importance — the belief that he should be spared public shame while many of his fellow celebrities have suffered a similar fate for such a dangerous lapse in judgement.
What makes him better than the likes of Mary Lou Retton, ex-quarterback Jay Cutler, Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods or any other famous person whose busts from driving impaired have been broadcast on the internet?
The legal demand also hollows out the apology Timberlake made at a press conference after he was ordered to perform 25 hours of community service.
“This is a mistake that I made, but I am hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake,” he said at the time.
I think Timberlake — whose reputation has taken a battering over the last few years after unflattering disclosures by his troubled ex Britney Spears — should actually use the video as a public service.
Don’t fight its release. Own it. Say, “Don’t be like this jerk, who could have killed someone.”
After all, we just had a poignant reminder of what’s at stake.
Just a little over a week ago, we were all celebrating the gold medal win of the men’s US hockey team. After the win, players held up the jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets winger who, along with his brother Matthew, died when their bikes were hit by an alleged drunk driver in August 2024.
There was not a dry eye as two of Johnny’s young kids were welcomed to the ice.
Amid all the media coverage, there was a scarcity of a simple but important message: Two men were killed so unnecessarily. So senselessly.
But their sister Katie Gaudreau reminded us. After all, they were killed on the eve of her wedding, turning what should have been a joyous family event into a unspeakable nightmare.
Posting a photo of Team USA’s Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski skating to her brother’s children, she wrote on Instagram: “Here’s your reminder not to drink and drive.”
“Think about my two amazing brothers and their four children who were robbed of happiness and moments they’ll never get back because someone couldn’t stay home instead of drinking and getting behind the wheel,” she added.
“Tomorrow will be another day we have to walk into court and face this nightmare. [Relive] that terrible night. Make the decision do the right thing.”
Thankfully, Timberlake didn’t physically harm anyone. He was super lucky that night when he got behind the wheel.
But drunk driving is horrifically stupid, especially in the age of ride shares — which should have made the destructive practice extinct.
For a celebrity who has the access and means to have a private driver, it’s particularly unforgivable.
It’s also treated far too casually.
People make mistakes, and should be granted grace. But it’s also telling how one acts after a transgression. And Timberlake, who received just a slap on the wrist, continues to show that he thinks he’s above the consequences.