‘Give a guy a break!’: Justin Timberlake celebrated by moms, gen z fangirls and Martin Scorsese at New York show | Justin Timberlake
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bnow anyone with an internet connection knows what Justin Timberlake said when a Sag Harbor officer pulled it on drunk driving in the Hamptons last week: “It’s going to ruin the tour.” What tour? “The World Tour!”
With that, on the pop star gave birth to the catchphrase for chronic online. (“That’ll ruin the tour,” I scolded my cat when he jumped on the counter the other day.) Timberlake was charged with one DWI and cited for two traffic violations — but he was arrested in fact spoil something?
Probably not. At least that’s what I heard at his Forget Tomorrow World Tour concert at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
“It happens,” said Ariana Callisto, 26, who came to Manhattan from Brooklyn to see Timberlake, whose music she “grew up” with (as opposed to the Gen Z officer who allegedly pulled Timberlake over unconscious of who he was). Kalisto’s friend made her a t-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a bleary-eyed Timberlake and the words “I’m giving back drunk.”
“He’s just a celebrity that got caught,” Callisto added. “I don’t think it’s necessary if he talks about it [onstage]. He is a man.”
Timberlake did it address of the dispute over the weekend while on tour at the United Center in Chicago. “It’s been a tough week,” he told fans between songs. “I know it’s hard to love myself sometimes – but you keep loving me and I love you right back.”
The 43-year-old former gangster may have been referring to a number of past actions that have come under the spotlight in recent years. Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman Inside Me, released last year, describes her famous ex as a cheater and the reason she had an abortion, saying he he played the guitar to her as she writhed on the floor in pain after the procedure.
Ahead of the book’s release, in 2021 the New York Times dropped Framing Britney Spears, a documentary about her conservatism that showed the double standard she faced after their split. Shortly after, Timberlake vaguely apologized to both Spears and Janet Jackson in a statement published to Instagram, saying he “deeply regrets the times in my life when my actions contributed to the problem, when I spoke out of turn or did not speak up for what was right.” He also admitted that he had “benefited from a system that condoned misogyny and racism”.
Later that year, Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction was also addressed by a New York Times documentary revisiting the 2004 Super Bowl, where Timberlake accidentally exposed his breasts on live television. The moment catapulted his career but stifled hers.
Then the about-face: This year, after the release of Spears’ memoir, Timberlake said he “would like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely nobody.”
It was a scathing and self-indulgent response from a singer who admitted to taking advantage of misogyny and racism. (His R&B-tinged pop often feels appropriated to black culture, perhaps best summed up by Prince’s 2006 report dig in Timberlake: “For anyone who claims to have brought sexy back, sexy never left.”)
Anyone anticipating Timberlake’s downfall saw last week’s DWI as payback: The pop star was pulled over overnight after running a stop sign and drifting out of the traffic lane. (Timberlake claimed only had “one martini” before getting behind the wheel; he is we talk for seeking help for past excessive drinking.) His next court appearance is scheduled for July 26.
But the crowd at Timberlake’s first of two nights in New York City came to party. Although the nearly 20,000 capacity venue wasn’t full, I wouldn’t say the turnout was embarrassing either.
The women – and it was mostly women, some supporting friendships or spouses, but mostly in groups of friends – came dressed in sequins or vintage NSync shirts, or both. MSG had a bachelorette party vibe, with lots of “wooing” and selfie-taking. Before Timberlake came along, a DJ was spinning 90s baby favorites: think Friends and the Macarena theme song.
Julie, Joy and Nina, three friends from New Jersey who did not give their last names, said they have been “fans since 1997” and no amount of arrest could dampen their adoration. “We got tickets months and months ago,” Julie said. “They are blowing this way out of proportion. Give a man a break! He is exhausted, has two children and his wife works. Can’t he go out and have dinner?’
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Well, the problem wasn’t the dinner, it was the driving. Why not hire a driver? “He wants some alone time,” Julie said. “Sometimes you have to drive home and be alone with your thoughts.”
“I do not care; nobody got hurt,” said Michelle, who lives in Staten Island and did not give her last name because she called in sick from work to make the show. “It sucks, it’s embarrassing for him and his family, but it is what it is. And the next time he needs me, I’ll be his driver.
Lexi DeVito, mother of New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, was also in attendance and eyeing the merch table when I approached her. She thought Timberlake “should have been more careful” and agreed that someone as famous as him could afford to call an Uber when he was drunk. She added that her son has a driver “everywhere.”
When Timberlake took the stage, he started off strong, wisely scoring nostalgia points with songs like Like I Love You, LoveStoned and Cry Me a River. His voice was strong and his falsetto didn’t waver. He was putting on a good show.
But the extended midsection relied too heavily on current songs like Sanctified, a sort of Imagine Dragons-meets-gospel sleeper from Timberlake’s 2024 album. Everything I thought it was. During the song, a woman who had been dancing in front of me for 30 straight minutes immediately sat down and kicked Bumble out.
Jessica Biel, Timberlake’s wife of 12 years, appeared on maintenance, standing alone in the VIP booth, sipping a cocktail. Martin Scorsese was also in attendance for some reason. Timberlake praised the director, calling him “homy” before performing New York, New York. Corny, yes, but a good way for him to show off his vocals. Although Timberlake did not address his DWI, the song choice and mention of Scorsese seemed like an embrace of Manhattan and a repudiation of the Hamptons, the site of his arrest.
After the slow jams allowed the less dedicated among us to take a bathroom break or Bumble, it was back to the hits. While SexyBack was playing, I looked up tickets for Janet Jackson – she’s playing in Brooklyn next month, and seats in the section comparable to the one I was in for Timberlake are $100 less. During the encore, where Timberlake stood on a mobile monolith that flew above the crowd, I wondered what kind of tour Britney Spears would be doing in 2024 if she hadn’t faced such debilitating career setbacks.
Did it matter when I was sandwiched between a trio of public school teachers celebrating summer and a pregnant woman twerking through SexyBack? Moments like this save a tour from failure.
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