Justin Timberlake spoke out on Friday, after entering a plea related to his June 18 arrest. Scroll down for Timberlake’s comments on the case.
Earlier, Timberlake was spotted arriving to the Sag Harbor courthouse in New York and stayed silent and serious as he walked through a throng of people.
Justin Timberlake faces a swarm of cameras as he arrives to court in Sag Harbor, New York to finalize a plea deal in his DWI case. pic.twitter.com/TrLAGUlKRm
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Timberlake wore a dark blue sweater, with slacks and sunglasses for the court appearance, which he appeared to attend without wife Jessica Biel.
TMZ confirmed the judge accepted Timberlake’s plea to driving while ability impaired, known as a DWAI, and his previous DWI charge was dropped.
He will have to serve 25 hours of community service within one year, pay a $500 fine and have his license suspended for 90 days. Justin will also be required to appear in a PSA, most likely about not drinking and driving.
Fans may recall, Justin previously appeared in a Budweiser PSA years ago with *NSYNC, which was also about not drinking and driving. Watch it here.
Afterward, Justin spoke to reporters, saying, “I try to hold myself to a very high standard… this was not that.”
He went on to send a message to the public, “Even if you’ve had one drink don’t get behind the wheel of a car, there are so many alternatives. Call a friend, take an Uber, there are so many travel apps, take a taxi… this is a mistake that I made but I’m hoping whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have. Like I said, even one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.”
Timberlake added, “I grew up in a small town, so I can appreciate and understand the strain or unique nature that this must have been on the people of Sag Harbor but I just want to say to everyone who has been involved… including the police department that I am very grateful and I thank them.”
He closed by saying, “I would 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.”
On Thursday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told Page Six that Justin was not getting special treatment because of his celebrity status.
“The one thing that we want to make sure we’re doing is … being consistent, and we don’t want to treat any defendant better than others because of, you know, because of any perceived notoriety they may have,” he said. “But we certainly don’t want to treat people worse for the same reason.”
Last month, DailyMail.com obtained Timberlake’s arrest report, which revealed the singer failed more than one field sobriety test — including the walk-and-turn and one-leg stand tests — after being pulled over on June 18.
The papers included notes from rookie police officer Michael Arkinson, who described Justin’s “unsteady” demeanor that night.
Atkinson wrote, “Bloodshot and glassy eyes. Odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from breath, inability to divide attention, unsteady afoot.”
He added that Justin told him, “I had one martini and followed my friends home.”
Atkinson explained that while doing the walk-and-turn and one-leg stand tests, Timberlake was “very unbalanced” and “unable to follow instructions correctly.”
While looking for his registration, Atkinson said Justin was “unable to focus on speaking.”
Despite the arrest report, Timberlake’s lawyer Ed Burke confidently told reporters in a July court hearing that Justin “was not intoxicated,” saying, “The most important thing we have to say today is that Justin should not have been arrested for driving while intoxicated.”