Justin Timberlake has been mocked mercilessly for the lengthy speech he gave outside a Sag Harbor court after pleading guilty to a DWI charge, following his arrest on June 18.
The 43-year-old singer appeared somber on Friday as he spoke to reporters in the Hamptons, after being ordered to pay a $500 fine and do 25 hours of community service, and urged people not to ‘get behind the wheel of a car’ if they’ve had ‘one drink.’
After watching his speech, viewers immediately took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts as one person said: ‘I don’t know who this Timberlake clown is, but when you do something wrong, just admit it and say you are sorry.
‘But stop with the moral lectures. You are the last person qualified to give moral lectures to others,’ they added.
Another person fumed: ‘Justin Timberlake you are not an actor and I see right through your little bulls**t speech,’ while a third wrote: ‘Justin Timberlake holding a teary-eyed press conference about his one DUI charge as if we care. He really thinks this is the year 2000.’
Justin Timberlake has been mocked mercilessly for a speech he gave outside a Sag Harbor court on Friday
The singer was arrested in the Hamptons on June 18 and has pled guilty to a DWI charge
Someone else said sarcastically: ‘Justin Timberlake was very convincingly contrite giving his speech after leaving the court,’ and a different person wrote: ‘Justin Timberlake’s advice on not driving after a drink rings hollow given his own impaired driving incident. Actions speak louder.’
When a clip of his speech was shared on TikTok, people continued to mock the star as one person said: ‘Lol preaching after he got caught,’ while another joked: ‘Thank you Justin you’ve changed me life with this eye opening information.’
However, others defended Timberlake as one person posted: ‘Props to Justin Timberlake for owning it,’ while another said: ‘I can appreciate & respect Justin Timberlake for accepting responsibility for his driving irresponsibly.
‘In a world of complete lack of accountability this was rare. Whether court mandated or not, he still did it! Thank you,’ they added.
Dressed in a dark gray T-shirt and a matching sweater, Timberlake told the crowd: ‘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 Harbor, to everyone involved I am very grateful and I thank them.’
People quickly started to poke fun at his speech as someone described it on X as ‘teary-eyed’
One person claimed Timberlake’s speech was ‘bulls**t’ and said he was ‘not an actor’
Someone else branded Timberlake a ‘clown’ and describe his speech as a ‘moral lecture’
During his speech, Timberlake spoke about alternatives to driving such as Uber or calling a friend
As part of his plea deal, Timberlake committed to making a public statement about the dangers of drunk driving
The popstar added: ‘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.’
As part of his plea deal, Timberlake committed to making a public statement about the dangers of drunk driving.
Judge Carl Irace initially expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed statement, preferring a public service announcement.
However, he ultimately accepted the deal under certain conditions.
Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr, also spoke to reporters outside the Sag Harbor courthouse and said: ‘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, belligerent. He was polite and respectful during his whole encounter with law enforcement as they were to him,’ he added.
