Justin Timberlake DUI Arrest Footage: Count to Six Test "Too Hard Man"

Justin Timberlake Fought to Keep His DUI Arrest Footage Hidden. Now Everyone Has Seen It.

The arrest happened on 18 June 2024 in Sag Harbor, New York, a wealthy former whaling village about 100 miles east of Manhattan. Timberlake was driving a 2025 BMW. Officers from the Sag Harbor Village Police Department observed him run a stop sign at the junction of Madison Street and Jermain Avenue, then fail to keep to the right side of the road for several blocks. When they pulled him over his eyes were described in the official police record as bloodshot and glassy, a strong odour of alcohol was noted from his breath, and he was unsteady on his feet. He told officers he had consumed one martini and had been following friends back to his house.

"Guys, I'm just following my friends back to my house."

Officers then administered a series of standardised field sobriety tests. The footage released on Friday shows what happened next. Timberlake stumbled multiple times on the heel-to-toe walk. During the one-leg balance test, in which he was required to lift one foot six inches off the ground and count aloud, he stopped and said:

"Sorry, my heart is racing. These are like, really hard tests."

He took more heel-to-toe steps than instructed, apologising as he went. When officers asked what had brought him to Sag Harbor, he said: "I'm on a world tour." Then, clarifying: "World tour." He was polite throughout. When placed in handcuffs, a female friend who had been out with Timberlake and her husband that night arrived and appealed to the officers directly, telling them: "You love Bye Bye Bye, you're on SexyBack — one favour," and asking if she could drive his car home instead. The officers declined. Timberlake was processed and held overnight. When told he would be kept in custody until morning he responded: "I'm going to be here all night? You guys are wild, man." He then asked officers to leave the cell light on.

He refused to take a breathalyser test, which triggers an automatic one-year licence suspension in New York State. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

Three months later, in September 2024, Timberlake pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while ability impaired, a noncriminal traffic infraction. He was fined $500, ordered to complete 25 hours of community service, and had his licence suspended for 90 days. As a condition of the plea deal he also recorded a public service announcement warning against drink driving, stating on camera:

"Even if you've had one drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car."

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The legal battle over the footage

The case was resolved in September 2024. The footage existed from the night of the arrest. Multiple media organisations, including the Associated Press and the Sag Harbor Express, filed public records requests under New York's Freedom of Information Law seeking its release. On 2 March 2026, with the requests still unresolved, Timberlake's lawyers filed a petition to block release entirely, arguing the footage depicted him in an "acutely vulnerable state" and that public dissemination would cause "severe and irreparable harm" to his personal and professional reputation. A Long Island judge granted a temporary restraining order.

On 20 March 2026, the Village of Sag Harbor and Timberlake's legal team reached a settlement. The village agreed to release a redacted version. In the settlement documents, Timberlake's lawyers acknowledged the edited footage "does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." The footage was published the same day by the Sag Harbor Express and distributed to waiting news organisations.

The village's statement was measured.

"From the beginning of this matter, after Mr Timberlake's arrest, the village has attempted to comply with the mandates of the Freedom of Information Law. As would be true in any case involving records or video footage from our police department, such material is reviewed and redacted to address public and officer safety concerns as well as personal privacy considerations."

The footage runs approximately eight hours in total. The released version is redacted. It contains what it contains.

The FOIL request, the lawsuit to block it, the settlement, the redaction negotiations, the careful legal language about privacy — all of it to prevent the public from seeing a man who had pleaded guilty to impaired driving failing sobriety tests on a public road. The charge was not disputed. The plea was entered. The fine was paid. The community service was completed. The public service announcement was recorded and released. And still, the footage of the actual night had to be extracted through a legal process that ran for nearly two years after the arrest and three months after the case was resolved.

Drink driving kills people. It maims them. It destroys families. The MotorBuzz Drivers Revenge section covers enforcement issues extensively, including cases where enforcement is disproportionate, revenue-driven, or applied unequally. This is not one of those cases. A man was pulled over, failed his sobriety tests, and pleaded guilty. The footage confirms it. The only question the legal battle raised is whether fame entitles someone to a privacy right that ordinary people who plead guilty to the same offence do not enjoy. The settlement suggests the answer is no.

Justin Timberlake DUI Arrest Footage: Count to Six Test "Too Hard Man"

Justin Timberlake DUI Arrest Footage: Count to Six Test "Too Hard Man"

Justin Timberlake Fought to Keep His DUI Arrest Footage Hidden. Now Everyone Has Seen It.

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