Justin Timberlake breaks silence at Chicago concert following Hamptons DWI arrest: ‘It’s been a tough week’
Justin Timberlake made his first public remarks following this week’s drunk-driving arrest in the Hamptons that saw his glassy-eyed mugshot go viral worldwide.
“It’s been a tough week,” the “Cry Me a River” crooner told the crowd at Chicago’s United Center Friday night as he resumed his “Forget Tomorrow” world tour, his first performance since Tuesday’s embarrassing DWI bust.
Timberlake had already reportedly apologized to his behind-the-stage crew, but his comments from the stage were the first time the 10-time Grammy winner, 43, had acknowledged the incident publicly.
“I know I’m hard to love sometimes but you keep loving me right back,” the former NSYNC member continued from the stage, as the audience showered him with cheers.
The “SexyBack” singer, who has two upcoming tour dates at Madison Square Garden June 25 and 26, downed a stiff $21 Vesper Martini at the American Hotel, where he had been “having dinner with a bunch of friends,” sources said.
After pulling away in his gray 2025 BMW around 12:15 a.m., authorities said Timberlake almost immediately blew through a stop sign, prompting cops to pull him over outside the charming hotel — a favorite of celebs where rooms run up to $625 a night.
He was charged with driving while intoxicated and cited for running a stop sign and failure to maintain his lane, court documents show.
The cop who pulled over the world-famous singer was “so young that he didn’t even know” who Timberlake was, sources said, not recognizing him or his name.
When he groused that the brush with the law was “going to ruin the tour,” the cop responded “what tour?” as captured on bodycam footage.
Timberlake told arresting officers he had just had the one drink but refused to take a Breathalyzer test three separate times. He attempted to pass field sobriety tests but failed and was taken into custody, according to court documents.
A witness at the bar told The Post the “Mickey Mouse Club” alum was “wasted,” even grabbing someone else’s drink from the table and guzzling it when the owner went to the bathroom.
Timberlake appeared in court later that morning looking disheveled in a black baseball cap, gray graphic t-shirt with “Live Circuit” on it and a black short-sleeve button-up. He was released without bail.
The “In Time” star has acknowledged struggling with “excessive drinking” in the past.
He has two children with actress Jessica Biel, whom he married in 2012.
Biel, 42, who was in Manhattan to film a movie, according to sources, told Us Weekly that she was “shocked” and “extremely upset” by the news of her hubby’s DWI bust.
If convicted he faces up to a year in Suffolk County Jail, however experts told The Post that sentence is highly unlikely given Timberlake’s clean criminal record.
More likely he’ll be fined $500 and have his license suspended in the Empire State for 90 days.
