Justin Timberlake‘s lawyer have vowed to “vigorously” defend the pop star after false drug use claims surrounding his arrest have gone viral.
Timberlake was arrested on Tuesday (June 18) in Long Island, New York for “driving while intoxicated”. According to a complaint obtained by the New York Post, the 10-time Grammy Award winner claimed to have consumed just “one martini” before following his friends home in his car.
He also allegedly refused a breathalayser, as per his lawyer Ed Burke: “The charge was a single count because he refused the breath test. Mr. Timberlake was also charged with two other court citations, running a stop sign and not travelling in the correct traffic lane.”
Following his arrest, a satirical account on X/Twitter was able to fool fans that the pop star was on various drugs at the time.
As per the Daily Mail, the X/Twitter account by the name @PooCrave – which uses a similar username and icon as the popular online media source known as @PopCrave – tweeted that the ‘Rock Your Body’ singer ‘had traces’ of molly (ecstasy), poppers, Truvada and cocaine in his ‘bloodstream’ following his DWI.
The tweet went viral, causing many users to be mistaken into believing that the news had come from a legitimate source. It gained over 25,000 retweets and 24 million views in a few hours.
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Now, Burke has shared a statement to PA Media news agency (via BBC) that read: “I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations. I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
Elsewhere, it was reported that the cop who arrested Timberlake allegedly did not recognise the popstar – with Timberlake allegedly saying it would “ruin” his tour.
Page Six recently obtained more details about the arrest, claiming that the police officer who made the arrest did not recognise the global superstar. An insider speaking to the publication further claimed that the officer “was so young that he didn’t even know” who Timberlake was.
A second source also alleged to Page Six the following exchange: “Justin said under his breath, ‘This is going to ruin the tour.’ The cop replied, ‘What tour?’ Justin said, ‘The world tour.’”
Per TMZ, the former *NSYNC star is due back in court on July 26. The outlet also alleged that the singer’s friends were near the arrest and pleaded with police to let him loose, but officers refused.
Elsewhere, Timberlake recently released his sixth album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’. In a three-star review, NME wrote: “Timberlake is a less beloved pop superstar than he probably should be 25 years after he sang ‘It’s gonna be may’ on an era-defining NSYNC banger.
“‘Everything I Thought It Was’ shows he hasn’t lost his vocal chops or ability to work a groove, but it doesn’t do enough to make you block out past misdemeanours. For now, Timberlake’s problematic fave era will have to wait.”
In other news, the singer is set to perform a two-night run at Chicago’s United Center on June 21 and 22 followed by two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden next week (June 25, 26). Visit here to purchase any last-minute tickets.