Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty to a non-criminal offense at a Long Island courthouse Friday to resolve the DWI he got earlier this summer in the Hamptons, professing he drank that night, it impaired him and he showed poor judgment.
A public statement on the perils of drinking and driving was part of the plea agreement. The judge said Timberlake could get 25 to 40 hours, depending on how sincere he appeared in that public statement. He ultimately gave him 25 hours.
"Even if you’ve had one drink don’t get behind the wheel of a car," said Timberlake outside of the Sag Harbor courthouse. "I try to hold myself to a very high standard and this was not that."
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The charge went from DWI to driving while ability impaired. Timberlake also has to pay a $500 fine.
The judge ordered Timberlake to make a public statement on why people shouldn't drink and drive, and added 25 hours of community service to his sentence, after saying the plea deal was "lacking" and "underdelivers." The community service can be served with a nonprofit of Timberlake's choice, though the singer didn't share which one he would be volunteering for.
Timberlake will also have his license suspended in New York for 90 days.
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The fine amount hasn't yet been determined. The judge said Timberlake also has to make a public statement on why people shouldn't drink and drive, and added community service to his sentence. He said he'd have to do 25 to 40 hours, with the number ultimately depending on how well he goes in his public statement. Timberlake said he'd be willing to do the time.
Driving while ability impaired is a traffic violation that carries a $300 to $500 fine and a 90-day license suspension.
He initially pleaded not guilty to a drunken driving charge, and his attorney insisted in early August that he was not intoxicated.
Suffolk Count District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement that Timberlake had taken responsibility for his behavior.
"We appreciate his willingness to hold himself accountable for his behavior, and for using his platform to increase public awareness about the dangers of drunk driving," Tierney said. "As previously stated, Mr. Timberlake received the same treatment as any other defendant. Justice should be applied equally to all individuals, regardless of their wealth or celebrity status. Drunk and drugged driving is an extremely serious nationwide public safety issue."
Timberlake had initially been charged with the misdemeanor on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane in Sag Harbor, a one-time whaling village mentioned in Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby-Dick” that's nestled amid the Hamptons, around 100 miles east of New York City.
The boy band singer-turned-solo star and actor was driving a 2025 BMW around 12:30 a.m. when an officer stopped him and determined he was intoxicated, according to a court document.
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the court papers said.
Timberlake, 43, told the officer at the time that he had one martini and was following some friends home, according to the documents. After being arrested and taken to a police station in nearby East Hampton, he refused a breath test.
The 10-time Grammy winner began performing as a young Disney Mouseketeer, rose to fame as part of the boy band NSYNC and embarked on a solo recording career in the early 2000s.
