Justin Timberlake charged with drink-driving in New York

Justin Timberlake has been charged with drink driving after police pulled over the “glassy-eyed” singer in New York.

He is reported to have spent Monday night in police custody after attempting to drive home from a party in the Hamptons, an affluent area of Long Island. He was released the following day.

It looks likely to disrupt the pop star’s first world tour in six years. Timberlake has reportedly been scheduled to appear in court on July 26, the same day his European performances are due to begin.

Timberlake, 43, had been at a party at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor when officers spotted him in a grey BMW swerving across the road and ignoring a stop sign shortly after midnight, according to entertainment website TMZ.

The Cry Me a River singer reportedly refused to take a breathalyser test, insisting he had only “had one martini” before getting into the car.

The officer who pulled him over said Timberlake’s eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” while a “strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath”, according to court documents cited by US media.

He appeared to be in “an intoxicated condition” and “performed poorly on all standard field sobriety tests”, the court documents continued.

“I had one martini and I followed my friends home,” Timberlake allegedly told the officer.

Handcuffed and arrested

A law enforcement source told TMZ they could smell alcohol on the singer’s breath and that he failed a sobriety test, which involved balancing on one leg.

He was said to have been handcuffed and arrested, with the incident captured on officers’ body cameras.

A source told the Daily Mail: “Justin was out to dinner with friends and there were cop cars stationed outside the restaurant like there are most nights.

“They look for people who are leaving after midnight who might have been drinking.”

Timberlake, a married father of two, appeared in court on Tuesday and was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated.

His next court date has reportedly been scheduled for July 26. The singer is scheduled to begin the European leg of his world tour the same day with a performance in Krakow, Poland.

A day before Timberlake’s arrest, his wife, actress Jessica Biel, who is reportedly working on a show in New York, praised him as their family’s “rock” and said she would try to keep him “eternally grounded”.

In a podcast with Oprah Winfrey in 2018, the pop star claimed to have drunk an entire bottle of whisky after performing at a concert with the Rolling Stones.

Timberlake’s 2013 song, Drink You Away, is about attempting to drown out the memory of a failed relationship through heavy drinking.

One reviewer noted that it makes a “plethora of alcohol references”, including Jack Daniels and Jim Beam.

Weaker-than-expected sales

The pop star is due to perform at two concerts in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, and another two in New York the following week, as part of his first world tour in six years to support his album Everything I Thought It Was.

Timberlake was once among the most prominent male stars in American music, but his most recent release has been met with a mixed critical reception.

It became his first solo release to miss a No.1 place on the charts since Justified was released in 2002, amid weaker-than-expected sales.

Timberlake is due to perform at two concerts in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, and another two in New York the following week.

The US part of the tour concludes in Kentucky next month before the European leg gets underway in July.

Timberlake’s first appearance in Britain is scheduled for August 7 in Birmingham, before a concert in Manchester and two further dates in London. He is then meant to return to the US and conclude the tour in Indiana in December.

Timberlake is reportedly being represented by Edward Burke Jr, a lawyer based in the Hamptons. Mr Burke declined to comment.

The singer’s manager and agents have also been approached for comment by The Telegraph.