Judge suspends Justin Timberlake license, threatens attorney with gag order
NEW YORK — Justin Timberlake had his license suspended at a hearing on Friday for his drunk driving case.
The 43-year-old Grammy winner, who is in Europe for his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, appeared virtually in the Long Island courtroom, where Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace slammed Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke, for the “irresponsible” remarks he made after last week’s hearing, NBC News reported. He also threatened to issue a gag order if the lawyer did not curb his comments.
Burke has vehemently denied the singer was drunk when he was pulled over in the early hours of June 18, shortly after leaving the American Hotel in Sag Harbor. The “Cry Me a River” crooner was stopped around 12:30 a.m., after police said his 2025 BMW blew through a stop sign, and then failed to stay on the proper side of the road.
Timberlake claimed he only had a single martini that night, but the arresting officer said his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, while his breath smelled of alcohol, according to a criminal complaint. He also performed “poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests” and thrice refused to take a breath test before he was charged with one misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated.
“He was not intoxicated,” Burke told reporters. “I’ll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated.”
The ex-NSYNC member was also cited for running a stop sign and failure to stay in his lane. He was released without bond the morning after his arrest, and he went on to perform two nights in Madison Square Garden as part of his tour, his first in five years.
Burke last week requested that charges against Timberlake be tossed, citing “a number of very significant errors” in documents submitted by police. Instead, Irace ordered him to be rearraigned with the corrected paperwork.
Timberlake has two shows scheduled in Antwerp, Belgium, this weekend.
