Justin Timberlake Admits His Mistake After Reaching Plea Deal in DWI Case

Justin Timberlake is facing the music.

Just days after the singer reached a plea deal following his incident in June—in which he was arrested and charged with one count of driving while intoxicated—Timberlake appeared in a Sag Harbor, Long Island courtroom and pleaded guilty to a non criminal traffic violation of driving while impaired, according to NBC News.

In addition to pleading guilty, Timberlake has agreed to pay a minimal fine, per NBC News, and complete 25 to 40 hours of community service.

Shortly after making his appearance, the singer spoke out about the incident, vowing that he'll make better decisions moving forward.

“As you may know, I try to hold myself to a very high standard and this was not that,” he told reporters outside of the courtroom Sept. 13. “I found myself in a position where I could’ve made a different decision, but I’ve had some time to reflect on that and I also understand why—the fact that all of you are here—that I have a platform, you have a platform, we share that platform."

He continued, "And so what I’d like to say to everyone watching and listening, even if you had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car. There’s so many alternatives.”

“This is a mistake that I made," he added, "but I hope whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake, I know that I certainly have.”

The *NSYNC alum’s latest comments come after he initially pleaded not guilty after being arrested in the Long Island village during a traffic stop June 18.

Prior to the latest developmeent in his DWI case, Timberlake's attorney Edward Burke Jr.  insisted that his client was not drunk when police pulled him over and spoke out against how authorities handled the case. 

"Justin should not have been arrested for driving while intoxicated," Burke told reporters July 26. "The police made a number of very significant errors in this case."

Adding that the "SexyBack" singer "was not intoxicated," the lawyer added, "I'll say it again, Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated. And we're very confident that that charge, that criminal charge, will be dismissed."

As for Timberlake—who shares kids Silas, 9, and Phineas, 4, with wife Jessica Biel—he publicly thanked his fans less than a week after he was detained while performing in Chicago.

"We've been together through ups and downs and lefts and rights, and it's been a tough week," Timberlake told the audience, as seen in a fan's video shared on social media, "but you're here, and I'm here, and nothing can change this moment right now."

The Grammy winner continued, "I know sometimes I'm hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back. Thank you so much."

(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.