Girls star Zosia Mamet has suggested that Justin Timberlake may be a "marketing genius" after the singer was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated and briefly taken into custody amid a world tour.
On June 18, Timberlake, 43, was held overnight by New York's Sag Harbor Police Department ahead of his arraignment at the eastern Long Island village's courthouse. The police department said in a statement following Timberlake's arrest that the star was "operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition."
The arrest occurred as Timberlake was in the midst of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which saw him play shows in Chicago and New York days after he was released from custody. His first tour in five years, the concerts began on April 29 in Vancouver, Canada, and are set to conclude on December 20 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Mamet, the daughter of playwright David Mamet, discussed the incident while weighing in on various unrelated subjects during a conversation with Interview magazine.
"My favorite thing that I've heard about the DUI was when Whitney Cummings posted something that was like, 'I honestly didn't even know that Justin Timberlake had gone on tour until I saw his mugshot,'" she said in the article, which was published on Tuesday. "So maybe it's a DUI, or he's just a marketing genius."
On June 27, Cummings, a comedian, posted a TikTok video about the incident, writing in the caption, "Justin Timberlake is a genius?" In the clip, Cummings said: "I'm not trying to be a conspiracy theorist. I'm just saying, I didn't even know that Justin Timberlake was going on tour until he got his DUI and said this is gonna ruin the tour."
She added: "I'm just saying, it's kind of weird to bring up your tour when you're getting a DUI unless you're genius at marketing. I don't know, just kind of wish I'd thought of it."
There is no evidence to suggest that Timberlake orchestrated his arrest. Newsweek has contacted a representative of Timberlake for comment via email.
Officers tailing the singer said they watched him run a stoplight and swerve at least twice, while also failing to stay in the correct lane as he drove his BMW through Sag Harbor. Timberlake, who refused to take a breath test following his arrest, is said to have been leaving a party.
Ed Burke, an attorney for Timberlake, said: "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 traveling in the correct traffic lane."
In court documents, police officers said they stopped Timberlake after midnight and observed that his eyes were "bloodshot and glassy." The officers also said that "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath."
The statement added that Timberlake, whose mug shot was released hours after his arrest, "was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady on foot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests."
Timberlake is quoted as telling officers on the night, "I had one martini and followed my friends home."
Page Six reported at the time that Timberlake's arresting officer did not initially recognize the star, who is alleged to have mumbled that his brush with the law was going to "ruin the tour." After being asked, "What tour?" Timberlake is reported to have replied, "The world tour."
According to TMZ, the star's friends then arrived and asked officers to give him a break, but they placed him under arrest.
During Timberlake's Chicago show, which was held days after his arrest, he told the crowd, per the Los Angeles Times: "We've been together through ups and downs and lefts and rights. And, uh, it's been a tough week. But you're here and I'm here. Nothing can change this moment right now. I know sometimes I'm hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back."
The singer is scheduled to appear in court on July 26, though he is due to perform in Krakow, Poland, that night. According to reports, Timberlake is expected to appear in court virtually.
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