Justin Timberlake is taking legal action to prevent the release of the police body cam footage from his DWI arrest in June 2024.
His legal team filed a petition that the video is a violation of privacy and could be harmful to his image.
The Arrest
Timberlake left the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York, on June 18th, 2024, following his friend’s home. While he was driving, the singer was pulled over and arrested on a DWI charge.
He told the officers that he “had one martini.” Per the arrest report, Timberlake’s “eyes were bloodshot and glassy.”
Along with the DWI, he earned two citations. One was for running a stop sign and one for failure to keep in the lane. Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., held his stance that the singer was “not intoxicated” during his arrest.
During his processing at Sag Harbor Police Headquarters, Timberlake refused multiple times to take a chemical test. He was held overnight and arraigned the following morning.
In September 2024, he reached a plea deal. This allowed him to plead guilty to a less serious offense of driving while impaired. Timberlake was ordered to pay a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, complete 25 hours of community service at a nonprofit of his choice, and have his license suspended for 90 days.
He was also ordered to make a public service announcement about the dangers of driving impaired.
Outside of the courtside after his deal, Timberlake told the press, “This was a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever’s watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake.”
Invasion of Privacy
On March 2nd, Timberlake filed a petition with his lawyers in Suffolk County Supreme Court. It centered around the release of body cam footage of the arrest. Multiple news organizations have requested to see the footage through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
However, Timberlake sees this as an invasion of privacy. “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.
Further, his lawyers claim the video would expose footage inside Timberlake’s car and other “highly personal details unrelated to public oversight of governmental operations.”
The attorneys are requesting a judge block the video’s release. Their other proposal is to conduct a private review to stop the disclosure of material not subject to disclosure under New York’s FOIL.
Video Negotiations
As of now, Suffolk County acting Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti has held off on ruling so negotiations could occur.
In an interview, Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella confirmed negotiations were underway. The village is “trying to be as transparent as possible.”
One of Timberlake’s lawyers claims that some of the bodycam footage is after his arrest, and shouldn’t be released to the public.
“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,” wrote Edward Burke Jr.
He added that during Timberlake’s arrest, there were bystanders who also “retain legitimate privacy interests.”
Harm to His Image
The petition goes further than just Timberlake’s privacy, but also his image.
“The harm from public exposure—stigma, harassment, reputational injury, and the permanent loss of privacy—is immediate and irreparable.”
This is just one of many instances where celebrities must fight for their privacy. Plus, it begs the question of where the line is for what should or shouldn’t be viewed by the public.