Justin Timberlake Awkwardly Explains His Job to Police in DWI Arrest Footage: 'It's Hard to Explain ... I'm Justin Timberlake'

Nicholas RiceSat, March 21, 2026 at 1:40 PM UTC

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Justin Timberlake in the 2024 arrest footage, Justin Timberlake performing in Paris in July 2025.Credit: Sag Harbor Police Department via AP; Lyvans Boolaky/WireImage) -

Justin Timberlake awkwardly explained his job to police during his June 2024 arrest, newly-released footage shows

"It's hard to explain ... umm ... I'm Justin Timberlake," the singer said, adding that he was "on a world tour" at the time

Timberlake was arrested on a DWI charge by Long Island police, and in September 2024, he reached a plea deal, where he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense

Justin Timberlake awkwardly explained to police what he does for work when he was arrested on a DWI charge in June 2024, newly-released arrest footage shows.

The musician, 45, was arrested after he left the American Hotel and restaurant on Long Island, N.Y., on June 18, 2024. He was initially charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and two citations, one for running a stop sign and one for failure to keep in the lane. (Timberlake's lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., has maintained that the singer was “not intoxicated” when he was arrested, and in September 2024, Timberlake reached a plea deal, where he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense.)

In video from his arrest, released on Friday, March 20, Timberlake can be seen telling a Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) officer, "I'm just following my friends back to my house."

When the officer asked Timberlake about his vehicle, he explained he was in a rental car for a couple of days, which prompted the officer to ask the father of two if he was visiting the area.

Timberlake told him, "Yeah, I'm on tour ... I'm on a world tour," and when the officer asked for clarification, Timberlake said: "It's hard to explain ... umm ... I'm Justin Timberlake." (The musician was headlining his Forget Tomorrow tour at the time.)

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Credit: Sag Harbor Police Department via AP

Timberlake previously took legal action to block the release of the police body cam footage from his 2024 DWI arrest.

On March 2, the singer filed a petition in Suffolk County Supreme Court, alleging that releasing the police body camera footage of his arrest would invade his privacy, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

“Public dissemination of this footage would cause severe and irreparable harm to [Timberlake’s] personal and professional reputation, subject [Timberlake] to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest,” the petition states.

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The footage was eventually released on March 20, after Timberlake reached a settlement with the Sag Harbor Village Police Department (SHVPD) and local officials, agreeing that a redacted version of the body cam footage could be released, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Timberlake agreed to the public release of a version of the footage that “does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," the documents state.

Sag Harbor Village Police then filed to “lift the TRO [temporary restraining order] and allow [police] to release” the footage, with the agreement stating that police “may release footage, as redacted” related to the arrest, according to the court documents.

Justin Timberlake performing during The Forget Tomorrow World Tour in New York City in June 2024.Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty

The arrest footage also shows police performing a series of sobriety tests on Timberlake. At one point, he can be heard saying, "These are, like, hard tests," and at another moment, as police put a light in his eyes, he said, "My heart's racing."

Timberlake was in the car with designer Estee Stanley and her husband Bryan Furst at the time of his arrest.

In the footage, Stanley can be seen asking a police officer what's going on, and later, as one officer handcuffed Timberlake, police told her of the singer, "At this point, he's coming with us."

When the celebrity stylist expressed shock and asked why, the officer told her, "He was driving drunk. He failed every single test." In response, asking police if she could give Timberlake his phone, Stanley said, "Can you guys please just do me a favor 'cause you loved 'Bye Bye Bye' or 'Sexyback?' Do me one favor?"

Stanley was later given permission to drive Timberlake's car home as he left the scene in police custody.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”