Newly released footage reveals Justin Timberlake struggling with sobriety tests during his June 2024 arrest for driving while intoxicated in New York.
The 45-year-old musician, who had attempted to prevent the release of the arrest footage, expressed to police that his “heart was racing” and voiced frustration over the “really hard” tests after being stopped by Sag Harbor authorities.
In the video, the “Cry Me a River” singer is seen standing behind his car, conversing with an officer as he prepares for a series of sobriety assessments.
The police administered the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test as part of their evaluation.
While undergoing the test, Timberlake, who has since accepted a plea deal to “move on” from the incident during his tour in the Hamptons, appears to slightly sway. The officer then instructed him to perform the walk-and-turn assessment.
At one point as the officer explained that the music artist could use skid marks on the road to help guide him, Timberlake asked, ‘Do you want this one or this one?’
Justin Timberlake, 45, was seen stumbling through sobriety tests in newly released footage of his June 2024 DWI arrest in the state of New York
The singer told police his ‘heart was racing’ and complained about the tests being ‘really hard’ after being pulled over by Sag Harbor police
‘It’s going to be the one of your preference, okay?’ the officer replied, with the star adding, ‘Whatever you want man.’
The officer briefly stepped away as another stood nearby Timberlake – who had been amidst his Forget Tomorrow World Tour at the time.
‘How you doing man?’ the Carry Out singer asked, and the second officer answered, ‘I’m doing good, how are you?’
Timberlake said, ‘Good,’ followed by a small smile as he glanced down towards the ground.
The first officer returned and instructed Timberlake to place his left foot on the ‘imaginary line’ and then put his right foot in front.
‘Heel to toe,’ the police officer continued.
The singer tried to do so but quickly stumbled and the officer began to repeat the same instructions.
‘You guys… guys,’ Timberlake suddenly said while holding his hands into the air, prompting the officer to stop speaking. ‘I’m just following my friends back to my house.’
He was being given instructions in preparation for a sobriety eye test – also known as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test
During the test, Timberlake – who fought to keep the DWI bodycam footage from public eyes – could be seen slightly swaying as he stood before the police officer told the star to also do the walk-and-turn test
‘You guys… guys,’ Timberlake suddenly said while holding his hands into the air, prompting the officer to stop speaking. ‘I’m just following my friends back to my house’
‘I’m not, like, I’m not doing anything – I’m just following my friends back to my house,’ he continued to explain
Timberlake asked for clarification on the walk-and-turn test and said, ‘Sorry, I’ve never done this so, I’m just…’ before taking a stumble
‘I’m not, like, I’m not doing anything – I’m just following my friends back to my house,’ he continued to calmly explain.
The officer then asked, ‘Well, will you do this test?’ and the singer replied, ‘Sure.’
Timberlake asked for clarification on the walk-and-turn test and said, ‘Sorry, I’ve never done this so, I’m just…’
He was then told to keep his arms by his side, take nine steps heel to toe, turn around and repeat the same nine steps.
The star started to do so before the officer told him to begin and then quickly apologized.
‘He’s going to tell you when you’re supposed to begin,’ the second officer said. ‘You’re all good! He just wants you to be in position.’
When he was told to begin, Timberlake took one step and then stumbled to the right.
‘I’m sorry, I’m a little nervous,’ the singer told both officers, before completing the test.
Timberlake was then instructed to do the one leg test.
After giving instructions, the first officer asked, ‘Do you understand that? Do you want me to re-explain that?’
Following a brief moment, the singer replied, ‘Um, tell me one more time. I’m sorry.’
The second officer added, ‘Don’t worry about it. We want to make sure you understand everything fully.’
While he started to undergo the test, the second officer walked away as a female approached the scene and explained that she was a friend of the singer
The bodycam footage then shows the star being placed into handcuffs. Timberlake had reportedly refused to take a breathalyzer test at the time of the incident
He began to tell her that she can drive his car before she questioned in disbelief, ‘You’re arresting Justin Timberlake right now?’
‘This is f***ing insane,’ she told Timberlake before asking the singer what she wanted him to do
The first officer began to repeat the instructions and Timberlake said, ‘Sorry, my heart is racing,’ as he placed a hand to his chest.
While he started to undergo the test, the second officer walked away as a female approached the scene and explained that she was a friend of the singer.
He told her to wait near the front of Timberlake’s vehicle as the singer underwent the sobriety tests.
At one point, the singer was seen standing on one leg for five seconds before dropping his foot back to the ground.
‘By the way, these are like really hard tests,’ the performer told the officers.
The first officer said the final thing that the singer needed to do is take a breathalyzer test.
‘And if you’re below the limit, you’re going. You just, maybe, someone else can drive. It does seem like you are impaired, intoxicated,’ the officer explained, with the singer simply replying with, ‘Okay.’
The bodycam footage then shows the star being placed into handcuffs.
Timberlake had reportedly refused to take a breathalyzer test at the time of the incident, the Daily Mail previously revealed.
The second officer then informed the friend that the star was being taken into custody.
‘No, he’s not!’ she exclaimed in shock. ‘No, why?’ The officer then told her that he was being arrested for DWI and ‘failed’ the sobriety tests.
He began to tell her that she can drive his car before she questioned in disbelief, ‘You’re arresting Justin Timberlake right now?’
The officer simply answered, ‘Yeah.’ He then walked over to the police vehicle and opened the back door, showing the singer sitting with handcuffs on.
He asked Timberlake if his friend could take his car, and the music artist silently nodded his head.
The singer seen detained in handcuffs after his arrest
When the officers approached the friend again, she asked to talk to him – but they denied that request.
She continued, ‘Can you guys please just do me a favor? Because you loved Bye Bye Bye or like Sexyback, do me one favor!’
They allowed her to walk up to the window – which the officers rolled down – so she could ask the singer if he wanted his phone or not, which the police would later give him following his release.
‘This is f***ing insane,’ she told Timberlake before asking the singer what she wanted him to do.
‘Um, I don’t know,’ he quietly said, before she was told by officers to hold onto his phone. As they began walking away from the police car, Timberlake could be heard saying, ‘Just let me ask you, why are you arresting me?’
The second officer walked the friend back to the star’s car and the video came to an end as the officers headed to the police station.
Timberlake later accepted a $500 fine in a plea deal to ‘move on’ following his arrest in the Hamptons on June 18, 2024.
He was initially charged with a DWI, but admitted to Driving While Ability Impaired instead to avoid a drunk driving charge, per TMZ.
He was also willing to do a public service video for the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
As Timberlake refused to take a breathalyzer at the time of arrest, it automatically triggered a suspension of his driver’s license under New York state law.
The release of the bodycam footage comes as he fought to keep it from reaching the public eye.
The former boyband member filed a complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court earlier this month.
Timberlake later accepted a $500 fine in a plea deal to ‘move on’ following his arrest in the Hamptons on June 18, 2024
He was initially charged with a DWI, but admitted to Driving While Ability Impaired instead to avoid a drunk driving charge, per TMZ; seen in September 2024 in Long Island
Timberlake claimed that the release of the footage would be ‘an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy’ according to court documents obtained by the New York Post.
The document read: ‘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 once-beloved former N-Sync member has had a rough couple of years after his treatment of ex-girlfriend Britney Spears was put under a microscope during her conservatorship battle.
Spears made explosive claims about their tumultuous romance in her 2023 memoir, The Woman In Me.
Timberlake’s treatment of Janet Jackson following a wardrobe mishap at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show has also come under scrutiny.
Then in July 2025, he shared the news of his devastating illness after the end of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour.
When Timberlake was diagnosed with Lyme disease last year, it was previously revealed how his wife had pushed him to look for answers.
He initially thought the exhaustion and pain he had been experiencing were part of getting older and the demands of his two-year Forget Tomorrow World Tour.
