Justin Timberlake’s bartender came to his defense after his arrest for a DUI in New York on June 18. “If he was drinking more, it wasn’t here,” the employee shared to People after confirming the 43-year-old singer had one drink.
This statement comes shortly after the “Mirrors” hitmaker was caught driving intoxicated where he recalled to officers that “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.” During this incident he refused to take a breathalyzer test three times once he was arrested.
Defense attorney Edward Burke Jr. confirmed to ET that Justin was charged with one count of DWI and will attend court virtually on July 26.
“A strong odor 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 standardized field sobriety tests,” the Sag Harbor Police Department told the outlet.
The statement read, “A traffic stop was initiated by a police officer from the Sag Harbor Village Police Department and upon investigation it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.”
In addition the police mentioned that “upon contact with [Justin] it was ascertained that [he] was operating said vehicle in intoxicated conditions, in that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor 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 standardized field sobriety tests.”
An insider told ET that “Justin is feeling remorseful, ashamed, and humiliated, but also accountable… [he] does not believe he needs help when it comes to alcohol,” instead viewing the incident as a “major lapse of judgment.”
Despite the incident, he briefly mentioned the arrest at his show in Chicago. “We’ve been together through ups and downs and lefts and rights and, uh, it’s been a tough week…But you’re here. I’m here … I know sometimes I’m hard to love but you keep on loving me and I love you right back. Thank you so much,” he said.