Justin Timberlake has filed a lawsuit against the Sag Harbor Police Department in an attempt to stop the release of bodycam footage from his 2024 DWI arrest, Us Weekly can confirm.
New court documents filed by Timberlake, 45, on Monday, March 2, stated that the singer wants an order from a Suffolk County Supreme Court judge to prevent the public dissemination of footage from his traffic stop on June 18, 2024, arguing that it “constitutes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Timberlake took legal action after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by members of the media in an effort to obtain the recording.
In the court docs obtained by Us, Timberlake argued that he is shown “in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement.”
The documents also claimed that the bodycam video captured “intimate details” of Timberlake’s “physical appearance, demeanor, speech and conduct” during his field sobriety test and arrest.
The lawyer representing Timberlake, Michael Del Piano, claimed that releasing the footage “would cause severe and irreparable harm” to Timberlake’s “personal and professional reputation” and subject him “to public ridicule and harassment.”
Furthermore, they argued that it would “serve no cognizable public interest.”
“Upon information and belief, the bodycam footage captures approximately eight (8) hours of continuous recording and encroaches upon areas of Petitioner’s life and emotional state that have no relevance at all to Petitioner’s arrest,” per the docs.
Timberlake was doing a world tour at the time and had been enjoying a night out at the American Hotel when he was pulled over in his BMW and subsequently charged with driving while intoxicated. His glassy-eyed mugshot later went viral.
The former ‘NSync icon ultimately pleaded guilty to driving while impaired following his arrest in the Hamptons. This development came after a judge signed off on his plea deal to officially drop Timberlake’s DWI (driving while intoxicated) charge, instead leaving him with a traffic violation.
Per his plea deal, Timberlake was ordered to complete 25 to 40 hours of community service with a nonprofit of his choosing and pay a $500 fine.
He was also required to issue a public safety announcement.
“I try to hold myself to a very high standard for myself — and this was not that,” he told reporters during his court appearance in September 2024, according to ABC News. “I found myself in a position where I could’ve made a different decision. But I’ve had some time to reflect on that.”
He continued, “What I’d like to say to everyone watching and listening: Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car. There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend, take an Uber, there’s many travel apps [or] take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake.”
At the time, an insider exclusively told Us that his wife, Jessica Biel, was “extremely upset” about her husband’s arrest. “She was shocked to hear the news and had no idea as she was working,” the source revealed in June 2024. “She was really worried about him.”
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