Gayle King doesn’t think Justin Timberlake’s DUI arrest is an accurate reflection of who he is as a person.
The 69-year-old came to a fierce defense of the “Mirrors” singer on Wednesday’s airing. CBS Morning following a segment on his recent allegations.
“Justin Timberlake is such an incredible person,” she said. “Look, this was clearly a mistake, and I don’t think anybody knows that more than he does.”
Despite the “stupid” mistake, Gayle insisted he is not an “irresponsible”, “reckless” or “careless” person.
While she acknowledged that “this is not a good thing,” she agreed with him that people shouldn’t be so quick to judge 10-time Grammy winner Billy Joel.
But she pointed out that there is “never an excuse” for drinking and driving, and urged anyone in a similar situation to call a taxi, a friend or a ride-hailing service.
The 43-year-old “Selfish” singer was stopped by police early Tuesday morning after partying with friends at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York.
According to the criminal complaint, before officers activated their sirens, they observed Timberlake “failing to stop at stop signs” and “fail to stay on the right side of the road.”
Although the hitmaker claimed he only had “one martini,” an eyewitness told Page Six that at one point in the night, the “intoxicated” star was seen guzzling down other patrons’ drinks.
The arresting officer said:[Timberlake’s] “His eyes were bloodshot and hollow” and “his breath smelled strongly of alcoholic beverages.”
“He had difficulty dividing his attention, slowed speech, was unsteady on his gait and performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests,” the officer added.
However, the officers reportedly did not realise that the man was the former NSYNC member, who had refused three Breathalyzer tests, as he was “very young”.
“He didn’t know him or his name,” the source said.
Another source added, “Justin whispered, ‘This is ruining the tour’. The officer replied, ‘Which tour?’ Justin replied, ‘The world tour’.”
Timberlake was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of DUI and two traffic offenses.
However, the handcuffed hitmaker was released the same morning.
Timberlake has yet to speak out about the incident, but his lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., exclusively told Page Six that he “looks forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations.”
Timberlake, who performs at Madison Square Garden next week, is scheduled to appear in court again on July 26.
The “Sexy Back” singer has been embroiled in several scandals since coming into the spotlight as a teenager, some of which were due to excessive drinking.
