Last week, Justin Timberlake was arrested for driving while intoxicated and committing a couple of (likely alcohol-related) traffic violations. He could have hurt someone. He could have killed someone, getting behind the wheel while under the influence. Don’t let the jokes make you forget that – Justin is a 43 year old man who got sh-tfaced at a bar and then got behind the wheel. It’s almost always “ACAB” but props to the cop who made sure to get Justin’s drunk ass off the road. Also props to the cop for helping to create all of the memes and jokes about Justin’s arrest. People are obsessed with the detail of Justin reportedly saying “this is going to ruin the tour,” to which the cop asked “what tour?” Justin’s reply: “The world tour.”
Since his arrest, Justin and his team have been doing the most to spread the word far and wide that Justin was not drunk, that all of it was just some horrible misunderstanding. A source just told People that when Justin stayed overnight in jail after his DWI arrest, “He was freaking out and stayed up all night when he was in custody. He’s insisting he only had one drink and it wasn’t some wild night out.” Does anyone believe him? Meanwhile, it’s a different story once you go past his publicist’s damage control. From Page Six:
Justin Timberlake may not have his old swagger — especially after his latest album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” dropped off the Billboard 200 after just four weeks. Sources told The Post that the singer and actor’s career is not where he thought it would be at this point.
“The album didn’t do too well, and I don’t see Justin getting big acting roles right now,” said a well-placed Hollywood insider. “I just think Justin has a bad reputation in Hollywood as a bit of a jerk and a pain in the ass.”
“He’s got a bit of an ego,” said an industry insider.
While Timberlake has traded on his dimpled good looks and sunny charm for decades, he’s not been having a great year. “Everything I Thought It Was” became his first solo release to miss the No. 1 spot since “Justified” in 2002. The record was met with criticism and weaker than usual sales upon its release in March. Ticket sales for “The Forget Tomorrow World Tour” have been similarly lackluster. “His golden boy image is definitely depleted,” the Hollywood source said.
“Reptile,” last year’s Netflix thriller, saw Timberlake deemed by critics as making “his best impression of Ben Affleck in “Gone Girl.” His biggest success in recent years has come from voicing a character in the the “Trolls” movies. It’s surely not the career he imagined when, as The Post reported in 2010, he had his eyes on an Oscar nomination for his role in “The Social Network.” Back then, we reported that he was “doing things his own way, including attending Academy screenings on his own and privately reaching out to award winners and Academy darlings Tom Hanks and Kevin Spacey for campaigning advice.”
In the end, only co-star Jesse Eisenberg received nod, although Timberlake did get to open the Oscars in 2017 with a rambunctious performance of his nominated, self-penned song, “Can’t Stop The Feeling.” (From, yes, a “Trolls” movie.”)
Another industry insider said, “There have been rumors around Justin’s behavior for a long time. Maybe the bubble was about to burst and this was the pin that pricked the bubble.”
Page Six is told he and Biel have rented a house in Sag Harbor for the summer, as they did last year. “In today’s world you have to be really dumb to drink and drive,” the industry insider said. “Justin is showing off a side that I don’t think a lot of people knew about.”
In many ways, I’m surprised that this DWI arrest is being positioned as “a golden boy’s fall from grace” in the entertainment media, because in my mind, Justin has been in a significant decline for the past decade. The music isn’t good, he always seems like an arrogant jerk, there are lots of people in multiple industries who do not want to have anything to do with him. It’s not like this DWI happened when he was on top of the world – he’s been struggling professionally and probably personally for a long-ass time. Speaking of the “world tour,” here’s Justin looking absolutely strung out during a concert in May (the video has made the rounds post-arrest, and as I’ve been saying… Justin’s face has told the tale of his substance/alcohol abuse for a while).
Umm is he okay? #JustinTimberlake pic.twitter.com/HEgAuWm55p
— La Diablita YHLQMDLG (@Bebecitaaa69) June 21, 2024
Jesus at the last supper, looking at Judas,
“this is going to ruin the world tour”
— Kristina Hart (@edgykristina) June 21, 2024
WE GOT THE POLICE REPORT
Justin Timberlake was so intoxicated he was passing stop signs and swerving out of his lane. His eyes were bloodshot, slowed speech, and failed the sobriety test. He refused to take a breathalyzer three times and was then arrested. pic.twitter.com/5rkBwcYbaz
— Britney Stan (@BritneyTheStan) June 22, 2024
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.