Sag Harbor Police Headquarters, where singer Justin Timberlake reportedly spent the night in custody after being charged with drunk driving in Sag Harbor, New York, on June 18, 2024. | Source: ADAM GRAY / Getty
The news that pop superstar Justin Timberlake had been arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated was being hailed on social media by fans of Janet Jackson still sore over the way he treated her during their infamous Super Bowl performance 20 years ago.
Jackson’s supporters suggested Timberlake’s arrest was the result of karmic forces exacting revenge for the so-called “Nipplegate” incident in which he ripped away her clothing to expose her bare breast during one of the most widely watched televised sporting events in the world.
Justin Timberlake is arrested
Timberlake was arrested early Tuesday morning in the trendy Village of Sag Habor, which is located on the New York City suburb of Long Island.
According to a press release from the Sag Harbor Police Department, Timberlake ran a stop sign and did not “maintain his lane of travel.” That prompted an officer to pull him over after which “it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition,” the police said.
Timberlake was arrested, processed and held in jail overnight before being arraigned and released on his own recognizance later Tuesday morning, the police said.
NBC News reported more details from the arrest:
Timberlake struggled to walk heel-to-toe and to stand on one foot without swaying or using arms to balance, the report said.
The officer quoted Timberlake as saying: “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.”
He also declined to be tested for impairment, allegedly telling police, “No, I’m not doing a chemical test.”
“A refusal can be introduced at trial to establish conscious evidence of guilt,” NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said. “It is the predicate for a revocation of driving privileges.”
Contrary to social media reports, the police did not say drugs were found in Timberlake’s system and there is no evidence that the pop star submitted to such testing.
The New York Post reported Timberlake has long had “issues with drinking alcohol.”
Taken in totality, it all added up to being a terrible look for Timberlake – something that was far from the case for him in 2004 during the aforementioned Super Bowl performance.
‘Nipplegate’
That was when controversy erupted from Timberlake ripping a piece of Jackon’s top and briefly exposing her right breast in front of about 140 million TV viewers. The moment gave birth to what has since become known as a “wardrobe malfunction.”
Timberlake emerged from the scandal largely unscathed, while Jackson received the brunt of the criticism. Jackson was all but blacklisted from opportunities in the industry and suffered a stalled career despite being one of the main contributors to pop culture while Timberlake’s career flourished.
Janet Jackson reacts in horror as Justin Timberlake rips her top off exposing her breast during the halftime performance of Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston on Feb. 2, 2004. | Source: MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images / Getty
Addressing the controversy in her Lifetime documentary, the icon insisted in 2022 that she and Timberlake made their peace.
But as evidenced by her fans’ commentary following Timberlake’s arrest, many of them still remember what happened between them.
Timberlake in 2021 finally apologized for “Nipplegate,” albeit without specifically referencing the incident and lumping it in with other past transgressions, including cheating on his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears.
“I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” Timberlake said in a statement that was written using iPhone notes and shared in a since-deleted social media post. “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson because everyone involved deserves better and most importantly, because this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from…”
Timberlake then invoked the issue of race.
“The industry is flawed,” he continues. “It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position, I have to be vocal about this. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.”
He concluded by saying he will dedicate his efforts to change and hopes his apology will be the first of many steps.
Judging from Tuesday morning, those “steps” may need to be among 12 in a larger rehabilitative program.
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