The pop superstar’s attorneys argue that the eight hours of footage “encroaches on areas of [Timberlake’s] life and emotional state” at the time of the 2024 incident.
The pop superstar initially pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge when arraigned, but in September 2024, Timberlake admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol the night he was pulled over and arrested just after midnight. Officers at the scene reported that he ran a stop sign in the village center and then veered out of his lane; when he got out of his BMW, he smelled of alcohol.
Justin Timberlake Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Now, 20 months after his arrest, the singer is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the town of Sag Harbor from releasing the footage. His attorneys met with a judge on Monday, arguing that releasing the unedited footage would be an invasion of his privacy, with his attorneys asking on Monday for a block on the release of the video or that the court conduct a private review of it to ensure material not subject to disclosure under New York’s Freedom of Information Law wouldn’t be included in what would be released. The meeting with the town’s lawyer and the singer’s attorneys is in response to public records requests seeking the video submitted by multiple news outlets that cover the singer and his career.
The video contains material that is personal and identifiable and which Timberlake’s attorneys argue is irrelevant to “any law enforcement action of public concern,” the legal filing submitted to the Suffolk County Supreme Court states. According to a letter sent on Sunday to Sag Harbor’s police chief by Timberlake’s attorney, who viewed the video back in the summer of 2024, the footage continues for approximately eight hours after the singer’s arrest and “encroaches on areas of [Timberlake’s] life and emotional state that have no relevance at all to [Timberlake’s] arrest.”
The lengthy video also includes imagery of bystanders who retain their right to privacy, his attorneys argue.
Timberlake’s original Driving While Intoxicated misdemeanor carried a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. In court in September, the singer told the judge, “I should’ve had better judgment. I understand the seriousness of this.”
