From Nipplegate to getting arrested: All of Justin Timberlake’s scandals and controversies

Justin Timberlake was once America’s golden boy – but in recent years reappraisal of his behaviour throughout the years has shed new light on public perception of him. Justin Timberlake has actually had a career smeared with controversy and scandal – and that all happened even before he was arrested in the Hamptons this week for driving whilst intoxicated. With the instantly infamous mugshot now burned into everyone’s brains and the future of his world tour in peril, here’s a look back over all the wildest Justin Timberlake scandals and controversies that prove this arrest is not the first stumble but rather the nail in the career coffin.

Janet Jackson ‘Nipplegate’

Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl when he ripped off some of her costume exposing her right breast. Rather than coming under fire for his actions, it was Jackson who took the heat and she was blacklisted from the industry. 140 million people were watching.

Janet Jackson said in 2006 she felt like Justin Timberlake “left her hanging to a certain degree”, saying “ll the emphasis was put on me as opposed to us.”

In one of her documentaries, Janet said “We talked once and [Justin] said, ‘I don’t know if I should come out and make a statement.’

“And I said, “Listen, I don’t want any drama for you. They’re aiming all of this at me.” So I said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything.”‘

Allegedly cheating on Britney

Britney explained in her The Woman in Me memoir that she was certain Justin Timberlake cheated on her when the two were together. She said someone had told her he was spotted in a car with a member of All Saints.

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“There were a couple of times during our relationship when I knew Justin had cheated on me.” She wrote. “Especially because I was so infatuated and so in love, I let it go, even though the tabloids seemed determined to rub my face in it. When NSYNC went to London in 2000, photographers caught him with one of the girls from All Saints in a car.”

She continued: “I never said anything. At the time we’d only been together for a year. Another time, we were in Vegas, and one of my dancers who’d been hanging out with him told me he’d gestured toward a girl and said, ‘Yeah, man, I hit that last night.’ I don’t want to say who he was talking about because she’s actually very popular and she’s married with kids now. I don’t want her to feel bad.

“There were rumours about him with various dancers and groupies. I let it all go, but clearly, he’d slept around. It was one of those things where you know but you just don’t say anything.”

Britney claims Justin Timberlake wanted her to get an abortion when she fell pregnant

Photo by Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Also in her book, Britney Spears claims she fell pregnant with his child when her and Justin Timberlake were together. She alleges Justin was “so sure he didn’t want to be a father”, and that she would have kept the baby if the choice was down to her alone.

Justin Timberlake released a statement addressing both Britney Spears and Janet Jackson and his scandals with the two of them in the past, saying “I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond. I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.

“I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed. l also feel compelled to respond, in part, because everyone involved deserves better and most importantly, because this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from.”

2024 arrest

Sag Harbor Police Department

The most recent of the scandals came in the early hours of Tuesday morning, pop star Justin Timberlake was arrested in the state of New York for driving whilst intoxicated. Since the news broke, more details have come out of the incident including his mugshot, pictures of Timberlake in handcuffs and more information about what actually went down at the roadside.

The initial arrest was made in the early hours of Tuesday morning and Justin Timberlake had reportedly been dining and drinking with pals at a hotel. The chief of Sag Harbor police said he couldn’t drive staying in the correct lane and ran a stop sign. His eyes were reportedly bloodshot and gassy.

According to Page Six, the young Sag Harbor officer who pulled Justin Timberlake over at the scene of the arrest didn’t recognise him and didn’t even know who he was when he saw his name. When he got arrested, Timberlake reportedly muttered under his breath “This is going to ruin the tour.”

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Recommended stories by this writer:

• A video has resurfaced of Justin Timberlake seemingly telling Britney Spears to stop drinking

• Justin Timberlake has been arrested for drink-driving in the Hamptons

• Justin Timberlake to Colin Farrell: Every big revelation from Britney Spears’ book so far 

Britney and Justin picture via Shutterstock.