Justin Timberlake filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Village of Sag Harbor and its police department, seeking to block the release of body camera footage from his June 2024 arrest for driving while intoxicated. The suit, filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court, argues that making the video public would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to the pop star’s reputation, according to the Associated Press via the Washington Times.
The legal action came just hours after Timberlake’s attorneys were notified on Sunday that village officials intended to release portions of the footage — with certain redactions — to comply with Freedom of Information Law requests filed by media outlets, including ABC News and the Associated Press. Edward D. Burke Jr., one of Timberlake’s lawyers, sent a letter on Sunday to Sag Harbor’s police chief urging that the video not be made public, also noting that the footage shows bystanders who retain legitimate privacy interests, NBC News reported.
The body camera footage runs approximately eight hours in total, according to Timberlake’s legal team. It captures the 45-year-old singer’s initial traffic stop, police questioning, the administration of field sobriety tests, his arrest, and his confinement for several hours afterward. Timberlake’s lawyers contend that releasing such material would subject him to public ridicule and harassment.
A judge did not immediately rule following a Monday hearing in state court in Riverhead. Judge Joseph Farneti asked both sides to confer on a possible resolution and report back later in the week, according to AOL. Vincent Toomey, a lawyer representing the Village of Sag Harbor, confirmed that the municipality had indicated its intention to comply with the FOIL request by releasing some of the footage with redactions based on personal privacy and law enforcement interference exemptions.
Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella stated that village officials had carefully reviewed the footage to ensure nothing would be released that could put police or the public at risk. The village’s position suggests a willingness to balance transparency with privacy concerns, though Timberlake’s legal team clearly views any release as unacceptable.
The arrest itself dates back to June 18, 2024, when police officers in the affluent Long Island hamlet observed Timberlake allegedly driving through a stop sign and failing to keep to the right side of the road for multiple blocks, according to a prior court filing detailed by Rolling Stone. Timberlake was reportedly driving a 2025 BMW at the time, according to Digital Music News. He also received two traffic citations in addition to the DWI charge.
After his arrest, Timberlake stated that he had consumed one martini before driving. He was initially charged with a single misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated and pleaded not guilty. However, in September 2024, he subsequently pleaded guilty to the lesser, noncriminal charge of driving while ability impaired by alcohol.
The sentence was relatively modest. Timberlake was ordered to complete 25 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, Yahoo Entertainment reported. His driving license was also suspended in New York for 90 days.
Following his court appearance in the criminal case, Timberlake addressed the public directly. “Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” he said, as NBC New York reported. The statement appeared to acknowledge the seriousness of the incident while framing it as a cautionary lesson.
Now, more than a year and a half after the arrest, the legal battle has shifted from the criminal charges themselves to the question of public access. The case pits Timberlake’s desire for privacy against the media’s right to obtain government records under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. FOIL requests are a routine mechanism through which journalists and citizens obtain public records, and law enforcement body camera footage has increasingly become a focal point of transparency debates nationwide.
Burke, who reviewed the full eight hours of footage as part of his representation during the DWI case, argued in court documents that the material should remain sealed. The outcome of the lawsuit could set a notable precedent for how celebrity arrest footage is handled under New York’s public records laws, particularly when the underlying criminal case has already been resolved.
Both sides are expected to report back to Judge Farneti later this week on whether they can reach an agreement. For now, the footage remains under wraps.
