Fact Check: Here's the truth about viral video of Justin Timberlake taking sobriety test after DWI arrest
HAMPTONS, NEW YORK: A video circulating on X falsely depicted singer Justin Timberlake falling face-first onto the ground as a police officer tried to conduct a sobriety test in June 2024.
According to a report by Snopes, no real footage of Justin Timberlake taking a police sobriety test is believed to have been made public.
The clip in question is a spoof that has been making the rounds on the internet since 2009, and the NSYNC alum is not featured in the purported video.
What controversy did Justin Timberlake find himself in recently?
On June 18, 2024, pop singer Justin Timberlake was arrested in the Hamptons, New York, on suspicion of driving under the influence, as per law enforcement officials.
Following the public disclosure of this incident, several individuals on various social media platforms disseminated humorous videos inspired by the notion of law enforcement officers administering a sobriety test on the famous musician.
Justin Timberlake’s sobriety test 😆 pic.twitter.com/x2HhRUcRwU
— 🇺🇸Kelli Kay🇺🇸 (@KelliKayK) June 19, 2024
One specific video gained significant traction online, purportedly depicting genuine footage of Justin Timberlake undergoing a sobriety assessment.
The footage shows a police officer instructing an individual (whose identity remains unknown) to assist in marking a line with tape on the ground.
Subsequently, the individual stumbles forward onto the pavement, resulting in an injury.
Background of viral video claiming to be that of Justin Timberlake’s arrest
The aforementioned video does not feature Justin Timberlake, nor does it show Timberlake undergoing a sobriety test.
There is currently no publicly available footage of the test itself, and this video was posted on the internet years before Timberlake's arrest in 2024.
By utilizing Google's reverse-image search tool, the original video was traced back to 2009, when it was first uploaded on YouTube.
The time stamps on the top right of the footage indicated that the incident took place in October 2006.
The footage in the X post seemed to be a close-up and blurry version of the aforementioned video.
A blurred version of the same video with the ‘Sky2’ logo on the top left was also posted on YouTube as early as 2016.
According to recent reports, surveillance footage depicted Justin Timberlake's vehicle being driven in the Hamptons prior to his arrest.
The Sag Harbor police department released his mugshot on July 18.
Allegedly, the pop star failed field sobriety tests, as per the police, and was arraigned and released without having to post bail approximately nine hours after his arrest.
Timberlake pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated, and a court date was scheduled for July 26, 2024.
