Justin Timberlake is facing a charge of driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons in New York.

The pop singer's arrest was widely reported.

The 43-year-old was arrested early Tuesday, Jun. 18 in Sag Harbor.

He was taken into custody shortly after midnight, and was released without needing to post bail after a brief hearing at the village courthouse, the Suffolk county, New York, district attorney’s office said.

He was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated.

So what’s really going on Justin Timberlake? pic.twitter.com/KCHyjYPeTH

— Drop It Low for Paimon (@wondermann5) June 18, 2024

Details of incident

Sag Harbor village police later issued a statement to news media, saying Timberlake allegedly ran a stop sign while driving a 2025 BMW.

He had apparently drifted out of his traffic lane and was pulled over by an officer who determined the actor was “in an intoxicated condition”.

A police statement said: "Mr Timberlake was placed under arrest, processed and held overnight for morning arraignment.”

Young cop apparently didn't recognise Timberlake

Page Six reported that a source told it that the cop who pulled Timberlake over “was so young that he didn’t even know” who the 10-time Grammy winner was.

“He didn’t recognise him or his name,” the source said.

A second source added: “Justin said under his breath, ‘This is going to ruin the tour.’ The cop replied, ‘What tour?’ Justin said, ‘The world tour.'”

The second source also told Page Six: “He didn’t show any entitlement at all. He did refuse the tests, but that is his right.”

TMZ, citing anonymous law enforcement sources, reported that Timberlake had been partying at a local hotel and ran a stop sign almost immediately after driving away.

Timberlake was arrested because police smelled alcohol on his breath as well as for failing a field sobriety test, according to TMZ.

In a statement to Us Weekly, Timberlake's attorney, Ed Burke Jr, argued that his client was only charged with driving while intoxicated because he refused to take an alcohol test, also known as a breathalyser.

Previous negative headlines

The entertainer’s arrest comes after negative headlines in the wake of the 2023 memoir published by Britney Spears, his former flame.

Spears recounted how Timberlake pressured her to abort a pregnancy while they dated between 1999 and 2002.

Timberlake was a member of ‘NSync and on the cusp of breaking out as a solo artiste.

She wrote that she ultimately had a home procedure so as to avoid being recognised at a hospital.

When she ended up crying on the floor in pain, he tried to console her by strumming an acoustic guitar and singing to her.

Spears later apologised for offending anyone with her memoir and complimented Timberlake’s comeback single, "Selfish".

But it appeared it was not a two-way street.

Timberlake subsequently told a crowd at a concert in New York: “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to absolutely f*cking nobody.”

The remark prompted Spears to apparently retract her apology, as she wrote on social media: “Someone told me someone was talking sh*t about me on the streets!!!"

She added: "I’m not sorry!!!"

Top photo via Sag Harbor Police Department