Justin Timberlake has divided the internet after a video emerged of the star criticizing a car full of fans and daring him to ‘race it’ while he was driving.
In the clip, fans are seen driving down the road next to a car with tinted windows as they shout, “That’s Justin Timberlake, man, roll down the window!”
As cars stop at a red light, the 43-year-old singer rolls down his window and says, “Do you want anything?”
The fans say, ‘Let’s race, let’s race’ as the star keeps saying, ‘Do you want something, do you want something?’
Timberlake – who pleaded guilty to drunken driving last year – ended the chat by saying, “Go away you damn kids.”
The video was shared online with the caption: ‘Why is Justin Timberlake so mean omfg.’ It is not known when the clip was recorded.
Justin Timberlake has divided the internet after a video emerged of the star criticizing a car full of fans and daring him to ‘race it’ while he was driving – pictured in September 2024
Fans quickly took to social media to alternately claim that the star had been ‘provoked’ or that he had been ‘mean’ to the driver and passengers.
One wrote: ‘Honestly it seems like they were just provoking him while he was doing his own thing. I don’t think he was necessarily mean – maybe annoyed after being yelled at by a group of people…
Another typed: ‘I’m not a celebrity, and he has no obligation to do what I do, but if I was famous I would always acknowledge my fans – it seems like they were just excited to see him again, I know it’s not just me.’
One follower wrote: ‘Never thought I would ever defend Justin Timberlake but these people harassed him and his actions were not mean at all.
“Whether you like him or not, Justin gave the appropriate response.”
Others wrote: ‘They may have been a bit annoying, but overall it was still a mean gesture to me
“Y’all are really driving down for him omg I respect it but I still stand by the position that it was mean and he could have kept that window open I’m afraid
“Celebrities really can’t set boundaries without being called ‘mean.’
In the clip, fans are seen driving down the road next to a car with tinted windows as they shout, “That’s Justin Timberlake, man, roll down the window!” As cars stop at a red light, the 43-year-old singer rolls down his window and says, “Do you want anything?”
The fans say, ‘Let’s race, let’s race’ as the star keeps saying, ‘Do you want something, do you want something?’ Timberlake — who pleaded guilty last year to one count of drunken driving (pictured in his mugshot) — ends the chat and says, “Go away, you damn kids.”
The video was shared online with the caption: ‘Why is Justin Timberlake so mean omfg.’ It is not known when the clip was recorded
Fans were left divided over whether the singer was being “mean” or whether Timberlake had been right with his response
‘They were annoying. Leave my husband Justin alone
“It’s one thing if they wanted a photo or said they liked his work but they just harassed him to ask to race and record him riding on top
“The people who called him mean… we don’t know how long they followed him. The fact that they knew he was in the car with tinted windows should tell you they were probably following him. That’s strange behavior.
‘They record him and harass him. How mean is he?’
In September 2024, Timberlake pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, three months after he was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York in connection with DWI.
As part of his plea deal, the What Goes Around… Comes Around singer urged drivers not to get behind the wheel of a car after even one alcoholic drink, shortly after pleading guilty.
The public safety announcement for the Sag Harbor Police Department on September 13 was part of the settlement that dismissed the non-criminal traffic violation charge.
The boy band singer turned solo star and actor was also sentenced to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choice and a 90-day license suspension.
“I try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself, and that wasn’t that,” Timberlake told the news media and other spectators after the hearing in the adjacent Sag Harbor Village Court.
Timberlake’s wife Jessica Biel, pictured in New York in August, ‘wasn’t happy with’ the highly publicized arrest
“Even if you’ve only had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” he said. ‘There are so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There are many travel apps. Just take a taxi anyway. This is a mistake I made, but I hope everyone watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know I certainly have.”
The NSYNC star made similar comments during the court hearing, saying he grew up in a small town and appreciated the pressure his arrest has put on a community like Sag Harbor.
The former whaling village, mentioned in Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby-Dick, is located amid the Hamptons, an area of coastal communities about 100 miles east of New York City.
Timberlake was arrested there just after midnight on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered from his lane and got out of his BMW while smelling of alcohol.
Police said Timberlake told the officer he had one martini and was following some friends home. He initially pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
Timberlake told the court he has had a lot of time to reflect on his actions and was “grateful for the opportunity to move forward” and use his platform to hopefully help others make “better decisions.”
“I should have judged better,” he told the judge. “I understand the seriousness of this.”
The SexyBack singer and wife Jessica Biel — who was “not happy about” the highly publicized arrest — have been “very busy working and are only focusing on family time when they are free,” the source said, adding raising their two sons. Silas, nine, and Phineas, four.