Justin Timberlake’s DWI joke

During his Boston concert stop, the SexyBack singer, took a moment to address his recent Driving while intoxicated arrest. The 43-year-old singer was mid-tour, performing at the TD Garden when a fan captured a video of him making a joke about the incident. In the clip, Timberlake asks the crowd, “So uhhh, is there anyone here tonight that is driving?” as the crowd erupted in cheers and noise, he quickly added, “No, I’m just kidding.”

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After his playful jab about the DUI arrest, Timberlake swiftly steered the conversation back on track. He jumped in with, “Is there anyone here tonight, that it’s your first time here to the show? Is there anybody here that you’ve been to 1, 2, 3, maybe 4 of our shows?,” he said before adding, “For all of you that it’s your first time tonight — on a serious note — I hope that you feel the fellowship and the love.”

Justin Timberlake was feeling ‘remorseful, ashamed’

Timberlake first addressed the situation at Chicago’s United Center, expressing gratitude to fans who supported him, stating, “I’m here … I know sometimes I’m hard to love but you keep on loving me and I love you right back. Thank you so much.”

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According to a source speaking to ET, the DWI arrest has “taken a toll on him, but he is trying to view it as a way to reset himself.” The insider further claimed that Timberlake is “feeling remorseful, ashamed, and humiliated, taking the situation seriously and acknowledging its potential impact on his family dynamic as a husband and father, as well as on his fans.”

The singer was arrested on June 18 and reportedly spent a night in custody, where he panicked over the situation. The pop star was detained by a young police officer who was unaware of the singer’s identity and asked him to undergo a breathalyzer test, which he refused. Timberlake, with red and glassy eyes, was pulled over on suspicion of running a stop sign and swerving out of his lane in the Hamptons. He subsequently failed a sobriety test. The 43-year-old, who had spent the evening at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, Long Island, confessed to consuming just one martini before choosing to get behind the wheel.

Justin Timberlake jokingly referenced his arrest for allegedly driving while intoxicated at his tour stop in Boston.

On Saturday (June 29), the 43-year-old singer and actor cracked a one-liner about the incident during his concert at Boston’s TD Garden amid his Forget Tomorrow world tour.

“So, uh, is there anyone here tonight that is driving?” Timberlake asked the cheering crowd in a fan-captured clip posted on TikTok. “No, I’m just kidding,” he quickly added.

The comment drew a mix of gasps and laughter from the crowd. The “SexyBack” followed the wisecrack by asking the audience who’s attending for the first time and who’s seen him before, according to TMZ.

Timberlake was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Sag Harbor, N.Y. on June 17. He was arraigned on one count of “driving while intoxicated” the following day.

“It was ascertained that the defendant was operating said vehicle in an intoxicated condition in that 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,” according to the police report filed by officer Michael Arkinson.

“I had one martini and I followed my friends home,” Arkinson also quoted the 10-time Grammy winner as saying in his report.

Last week, Timberlake broke his silence following the arrest during his show at Chicago’s United Center on June 21.

“It’s been a tough week,” the singer told concert-goers. “I know I’m hard to love sometimes but you keep loving me right back.” He added, “We’ve been together through ups and downs and lefts and rights … but you’re here and I’m here, and nothing can change this moment right now.”

JT’s lawyer Edward Burke Jr. has stated that he will “vigorously” defend the star against the allegations. “He will have a lot to say at the appropriate time,” Burke said in a statement.

Timberlake’s next court hearing is scheduled for July 26, the same day he is scheduled to perform at Tauron Arena Krakow in Poland.

BOSTON — The Red Sox ended the season’s first half with a thud.

All isn’t lost, of course. Boston shouldn’t be judged solely on one rancid sample against the San Diego Padres.

A perfect June weather night at Fenway Park was about the only highlight after the top of the fifth inning on Friday. San Diego unleashed a stunning barrage to key a 9-2 victory. Each of the first nine Padres who came to the plate reached safely and scored.

There have been more good evenings than bad for the Red Sox to this point. They sat at 43-38 entering Saturday’s second half — a far cry from any last-place predictions in the American League East. Boston is also within striking distance of a wildcard berth, entering the day just a half game behind the Kansas City Royals for the third spot.

“We’re in the mix to make it to the playoffs,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We have a good baseball team that can do a lot of good things.

“There’s other stuff where we have to get better, but at the same time I’m very pleased with the way we went about our business in the first part of the season and the way some guys progressed.”

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One of the standouts from the last time Boston reached the postseason was in the building. Xander Bogaerts was honored with a video tribute after the first inning and treated to a warm standing ovation. The former Red Sox shortstop stepped out of the visiting dugout and tipped his cap, currently an injured member of the Padres offering thanks to his former home.

Bogaerts delivered one of the last truly worthwhile swings this ballpark has seen in recent years. His two-run homer against Gerrit Cole in the 2021 wildcard matchup sent an electric shock through the grandstands. The Red Sox dismissed the New York Yankees, blitzed the Tampa Bay Rays and had the Houston Astros on the ropes before falling in the A.L. Championship Series.

Since then? Disappointment. Underperformance on the field and a lack of boldness in the front office. John Henry’s organizational pivot to less aggressiveness in free agency and former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom’s inability to chart a definitive course at the last two trade deadlines has created festering frustration here.

How will Craig Breslow fare a month from now? The crowd on this particular night was short of a sellout, and more than a few San Diego fans were able to purchase their tickets of choice in the field boxes. It’s a scene that’s repeated itself when the Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies or any other big-market franchise has visited town, and it needs to be stopped.

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That only happens by creating a real reason to believe in the home team. Per Cot’s Contracts, Breslow has more than $19 million in available Competitive Balance Tax space before he incurs any penalties. Boston should have the finances and prospect capital to buy if it makes the long-overdue choice to do so.

“We’ve shown we can play really good baseball,” Red Sox catcher Connor Wong said. “We’ve got to keep defending and keep pushing.

“It’s a long season. Anything can happen.”

Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder are the only current position players seeing regular time who are over 30 years old. A tight race into September and October could be invaluable for further developing younger options like Wong, Jarren Duran, David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and others. Refusing to support them and selling off pieces — with Cora already in the last year of his contract, no less — would send a rather different, more discouraging message.

Nick Pivetta cruised through his first four innings before getting crunched in the fifth. His earned-run average is up to 4.52, and that’s all too common in a rotation that’s taking on a bit of water. Brayan Bello has rocketed to a 5.55 ERA in what to this point has been a disappointing 2024 season and Kutter Crawford seems to have hit a wall — a 5.97 ERA in his last six starts and a 4.54 ERA through his last 12.

That’s obviously a primary area the Red Sox should look to reinforce. A right-handed bat to offer some balance in the lineup wouldn’t hurt either. As for shedding veteran pieces like Pivetta, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Tyler O’Neill, consider this: you’re not losing them for “nothing” in free agency if they can somehow help you reestablish credibility as a franchise genuinely trying to play deep into the fall every year.

“I do believe — I truly believe — there are going to be meaningful games here in September,” Cora said.

Let’s hope. We’ve waited long enough. One bad night shouldn’t spoil the hope of what could be to come over the next month — and, maybe, the next four.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch