Justin Timberlake Says ‘It’s Been a Tough Week’ During 1st Concert After DWI Arrest
Justin Timberlake resumed his Forget Tomorrow World Tour in Chicago on Friday, June 21, just days after his arrest for driving while intoxicated.
The singer, 43, performed at United Center, where he addressed his recent legal troubles, an eyewitness tells Us Weekly.
"It's been a tough week," Timberlake said while introducing his "Selfish" performance. "I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back."
Earlier this week, Us confirmed that Timberlake was arrested in the Hamptons on Tuesday, June 18. According to a statement from the Sag Harbor Police Department, Timberlake was observed “failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane of travel.”
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“A traffic stop was initiated by a police officer from the Sag Harbor Village Police Department and upon investigation it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition,” the statement continued. “Mr. Timberlake was placed under arrest, processed and held overnight for morning arraignment. Mr. Timberlake was arraigned at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on June 18, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. where he was released on his own recognizance.”
At his arraignment, Timberlake was officially charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, with his next court date scheduled for July 26. “The charge was a single count because he refused the breath test,” his lawyer, Ed Burke, told Us at the time. “Mr. Timberlake was also charged with two other court citations, running a stop sign and not traveling in the correct traffic lane.”
According to court documents obtained by CNN, Timberlake allegedly told police during the traffic stop that he “had one martini and I followed my friends home.” His eyes were allegedly “bloodshot and glassy,” and there was a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.”
One police officer claimed in the report that Timberlake had “slowed speech,” “was unsteady afoot” and “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.” He also rejected a breathalyzer test three times.
Timberlake kicked off his first tour in five years, the Forget Tomorrow World Tour, in Vancouver in April in support of his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was. He will take the stage at United Center in Chicago again on Saturday, June 22, before heading to Madison Square Garden in New York the following week. The tour is scheduled to run through December, when it will conclude with a show in Kansas City.
Despite Timberlake’s latest scandal, his wife, Jessica Biel — with whom he shares sons Silas, 9, and Phineas, 3 — appeared unbothered while filming her upcoming show, The Better Sister, in New York City on Tuesday.
Last month, Biel, 42, described her marriage to Timberlake as a “work in progress” during an appearance on The View, explaining that the couple — who tied the knot in October 2012 — are “constantly trying to find the balance” amid their busy schedules.
Biel noted at the time that Timberlake’s tour further complicated their dynamic. “I’m already exhausted — there’s been four shows! Oh, my God!” she said. “I don’t know how he is gonna do it. I don’t know how we’re gonna do it, but we’re gonna get through it. Somehow, someway.”
Reporting by Sarah Wynn
