Justin Timberlake has gone to court to prevent the release of police body camera video of his 2024 arrest for driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons area of Long Island, New York.
Arguing that releasing the video would constitute an invasion of his privacy, Timberlake’s attorneys are asking a judge to block the release of the video or to conduct a private review of it and stop the disclosure of material not subject to disclosure under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
Multiple news organizations, including NBC News, have filed public records requests for the bodycam video of Timberlake’s arrest. In court documents, his attorneys argue that the video shows personally identifiable information and private details that are not relevant to “any law enforcement action of public concern.”
“The harm from public exposure—stigma, harassment, reputational injury, and the permanent loss of privacy—is immediate and irreparable,” Timberlake’s attorneys said in the documents, filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
Suffolk County acting Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti held off on ruling so both sides could negotiate, said Vincent Toomey, a lawyer for the Village of Sag Harbor.
Sag Harbor and its police department had planned to release some of the video, with “certain” privacy and investigatory redactions, Toomey said in a statement Monday.
“Mr. Timberlake sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the Village from doing so,” Toomey said.
The Sag Harbor Village Police Department and its chief did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
In an interview Monday, Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella confirmed negotiations were underway and said the village is “trying to be as transparent as possible.”
Timberlake’s legal team said the video includes hours of video beyond his arrest on June 18, 2024, which it argues includes personal and legally private moments.
One of Timberlake’s lawyers, Edward D. Burke Jr., said in court documents that he has reviewed the video because he represented Timberlake during the DWI case.
“The bodycam footage captures approximately eight (8) hours of continuous recording and encroaches upon areas of Petitioner’s life and emotional state that have no relevance at all to Petitioner’s arrest,” Burke wrote.
In a letter sent Sunday to Sag Harbor’s police chief asking that the video not be made public, Burke also said it shows other people in the vicinity of Timberlake, bystanders who “retain legitimate privacy interests.”
Timberlake said after his arrest that he had one martini before he got behind the wheel. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, 2024, to driving while impaired.
After his plea, Timberlake agreed to 25 to 40 hours of community service and a fine.
“This was a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever’s watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake,” he said outside court that day.
