A judge has made a decision about Justin Timberlake’s fate after he was arrested in June for driving while intoxicated.
The Cry Me A River hitmaker, 43, has appeared in court in New York state, where he pleaded guilty to the less serious traffic offence of driving while impaired, which is non-criminal.
He has been ordered to pay a $500 (£380) fine with a $260 (£200) surcharge, do 25 hours of community service and make a public safety announcement.
His lawyer Edward Burke Jr told reporters outside the Sag Harbour courthouse: ‘My client finished the contents of one drink in two hours at the American hotel, and contrary to what was reported he wasn’t drinking other people’s drinks or warned in advance not to drive.
‘He wasn’t rude, obnoxious, or belligerent. He was polite and respectful during his whole encounter with law enforcement as they were to him.’
Timberlake also took to the microphone and made a statement, which said: ‘Many of you have probably been covering me for a lot of my life and as you may know I try to hold myself to a very high standard.
‘This was not that. I found myself in a position where I could have made a different decision, but I’ve had some time to reflect on that and I also understand I have a platform, you have a platform – we share that platform – so what I would like to say to everyone watching and listening is: if you have one drink don’t get behind the wheel of a car.’
He continued: ‘There are so many alternatives, call a friend, take an Uber, take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made but I hope everyone watching and listening can learn from this mistake. And like I said, even one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.
‘I grew up in a small town, so I can appreciate and understand the strain this must’ve been on the people of Sag Harbour, to everyone involved I am very grateful and I thank them.
‘I guess in closing I’d like to say, we can all be more safe out there and I’m going to do my part, I hope that everyone else does their part. Thank you very much.’
According to the Associated Press, in court the 10-time Grammy winner also said how on this occasion he didn’t live up to his own standards.
‘I should’ve had better judgement,’ he told the judge. ‘I understand the seriousness of this.’
At the time of the arrest, Sag Harbor Village Police Department said the Can’t Stop The Feeling musician was pulled over on June 18 at 12.37am local time following officers seeing him ‘failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane of travel’ while driving a BMW.
In court documents, an officer alleged that his eyes were ‘bloodshot and glassy’, and claimed that a ‘strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath’.
‘He was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardised field sobriety tests,’ the court papers added.
The Social Network actor was held overnight until he was arraigned at Sag Harbor Village Justice Court and released.
Timberlake initially denied the allegations and his lawyer, Edward Burke Jr, later told People Magazine after a hearing in July: ‘The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI.
‘The police made a number of very significant errors in this case. In court today, you heard the district attorney try to fix one of those errors. But that’s just one and there are many others. Sometimes the police make mistakes and this is just one of those instances.
‘We are confident that this charge will be dismissed.’
Timberlake also appeared to make a dig over the arrest during a concert in Boston after he was released.
In a video that went viral on social media, he asked the crowd: ‘Is there anyone here that is driving, no I’m just kidding.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Harry Styles debuts new hair – and there’s an unexpected party in the back
MORE : Ewan McGregor joined by his children aged 3 to 28 as he gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star
MORE : Disturbing horror movie that made viewers ‘physically ill’ finally available to stream
