Justin Timberlake’s Hamptons DWI nightmare has finally come to an end. On Friday, the singer appeared at a Sag Harbor court hearing where he entered a guilty plea, according to NBC News. Accompanied by his attorney, Edward Burke Jr., Timberlake — sans suit and tie — took a deal that lessened his charge from the misdemeanor of driving while intoxicated to the noncriminal traffic violation of “driving while ability impaired.”
Having previously suspended Timberlake’s license, Judge Carl Irace asked if the singer would be willing to volunteer at a nonprofit organization to make up for his conduct. “I’d be willing to,” Timberlake said in court. Judge Irace is also requiring Timberlake to make a public statement about the dangers of drinking and driving, according to NBC New York. In addition, the 43-year-old agreed to pay an undisclosed fine and complete 25 to 40 hours of community service. The judge said he would determine the final number of community-service hours based on the quality of Timberlake’s statement.
After Friday’s hearing, Timberlake spoke to reporters outside the courthouse, noting that he holds himself “to a very high standard.” “This was not that,” he said of the “mistake” he’d made, according to NBC News. “I found myself in a position where I could have made a different decision.” The Cut has reached out to representatives for Timberlake and will update this post if we hear back.
In June, the former ’N Sync member was pulled over and arrested after driving through a stop sign in the Hamptons. “Page Six” reported that Timberlake insisted he’d had “one martini” while bopping around with friends that evening. According to a police report TMZ obtained, an officer reported that Timberlake had “bloodshot” eyes and refused a Breathalyzer test three times. On the advice of his lawyer, Timberlake initially pleaded not guilty to a DWI charge, with Burke writing in a statement that he “looked forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations.”
After his arrest, the singer had reportedly lamented that the DWI hiccup would “ruin the tour” — that is, his Forget Tomorrow World Tour. Despite his fears, the performances have continued mostly uninterrupted with Timberlake briefly acknowledging the arrest to his Chicago audience in June: “I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back.” According to his website, the tour will, in fact, go on to Chile, Denmark, and more countries. Perhaps he’ll fit in his community service when he stops in New York again in October.
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