Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge in his drunk driving case in Sag Harbor, N.Y., and was ordered to pay a $500 fine and perform community service.
Timberlake pleaded guilty to “driving while ability impaired,” which is a violation under New York law. He was initially charged with a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated.
“I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself,” Timberlake told the judge, according to the Associated Press. “I should’ve had better judgment… I understand the seriousness of this.”
Timberlake’s license had already been suspended. The judge also sentenced Timberlake to 25-40 hours of community service at a non-profit, and ordered him to make a “public safety announcement.”
Timberlake fulfilled that obligation by making a brief statement to the press corps outside the courthouse after the hearing.
“Even if you had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend, take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever’s watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
Timberlake entered the village courthouse surrounded by local police, who had to run a gauntlet of photographers and reporters.
Among those in the courtroom Friday was a local mother whose 12-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver in 2018.
Alisa McMorris, who now runs a foundation in her son Andrew’s memory, said she hoped Timberlake’s remarks would help bring more awareness to the dangers of driving under the influence.
“Justin has such a huge platform to the next generation. People listen to him,” she said alongside her daughter after the singer had departed. “Five words I tell the kids when I go to the high schools is ‘How are we getting home?’ and he spoke about that. Make a plan. I don’t want another sister or a family to have to go through what we did.”
The singer, 43, was arrested in June after police stopped him for weaving out of his lane and failing to obey a stop sign.
The arresting officer reported that his eyes were “bloodshot” and “glassy,” and that he performed poorly on a field sobriety test. Timberlake told the officer he had one martini and was following his friends home, and refused to take a Breathalyzer test.
Timberlake’s attorney, Ed Burke, had denied that his client was drunk at a previous hearing.
“The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI,” he said at the time.
A DWI charge is typically imposed for a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher, while a DWAI charge equates to a BAC of .05-.07. Prosecutors have said it is not unusual to plead down the misdemeanor to a violation on a first offense, and have denied that Timberlake received any special treatment.
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