Justin Timberlake acknowledged having “a tough week” and thanked fans for their support at a concert Friday in what was the first time the pop star spoke publicly since police in the Hamptons arrested him on allegations of driving while intoxicated days earlier. “We’ve been together through ups and downs, lefts and rights,” Timberlake told a crowd at the United Center in Chicago three days after his 18 June arrest. “It’s been a tough week, but you’re here and I’m here, and nothing can change this moment right now.” He continued: “I know sometimes I’m hard to love – but you keep on loving me, and I love you right back.” Timberlake was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, and later released on his own recognizance without having to post bail after a brief court hearing. The New York Post reported that the same police officer stopped Timberlake twice on the night that the singer and actor was arrested. Timberlake was reportedly warned by the officer during the first stop not to continue his trip – and the officer reportedly thought Timberlake would get a ride home. But, while patrolling in a different part of town minutes later, the officer spotted Timberlake driving his vehicle. The officer, Michael Arkinson, a rookie who turns 24 years old later in June, has faced backlash over Timberlake’s arrest. Arkinson reportedly did not recognize Timberlake and in recent months has gained local notoriety for his purportedly strict enforcement of traffic laws. Nonetheless, according to Sag Harbor village police, Timberlake ran a stop sign while driving a 2025 BMW and drifted out of his traffic lane before being pulled over about 12.17am local time. Timberlake allegedly claimed to have had just one martini and three times refused to take a blood-alcohol-level test colloquially known as a Breathalyzer. “His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the police report on Timberlake’s arrest said. The officer’s report added Timberlake had trouble with balance during roadside tests. Timberlake had just come from the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York. The Grammy- and Emmy-winning entertainer’s arrest has ignited another round of unflattering publicity for him as he continues grappling with the fallout of negative headlines spurred in large part by his portrayal in the 2023 memoir published by fellow pop star Britney Spears, his ex. Spears recounted how Timberlake had pressured her to abort a pregnancy while they dated between 1999 and 2002. She wrote that she had a home procedure so as to avoid being recognized at a hospital – and when she ended up crying on the floor in pain, he tried to console her by strumming an acoustic guitar and singing to her. Timberlake – who has previously spoken about struggling with excessive drinking – has also drawn criticism for how his career thrived while Janet Jackson’s nosedived after he ripped off her clothing during a performance at half-time of the 2004 Super Bowl. He also angered supporters of actor Jessica Biel, his wife, when he apologized to her under pressure over what he called “a strong lapse of judgment” after tabloid images showed him with fellow actor Alisha Wainwright at a bar in New Orleans in 2019.