A week ago yesterday Justin Timberlake was the big headline when news broke out of the Hamptons that he was arrested under suspicion of DWI. He then pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer saying that he would “vigorously” fight the charges and in the days since, there’s been at least a story every day about the cop who pulled him over and/or about JT’s state of mind and much of it seems intended to change our minds about what really happened, to his advantage. 

 

A couple of days ago PEOPLE reported that a bartender at the hotel where JT was hanging with friends confirmed that he only served him one drink. The Daily Mail talked to a resident of Sag Harbour who says that the arresting officer, Michael Arkinson, is known to be a stickler for the rules and once gave him a warning for pulling an illegal U-turn and ticketed him another time for talking on his phone while driving… both of which are, indeed, traffic violations. What’s hilarious to me is that the man, identified as “Spencer”, while bitching about the eager-beaverness of the cop, whined about the fact that the incident made him late… 

“I only had less than 30 minutes to swim. It really interrupted my workout, and lunch plans.” 

LOLOLOLOL, like howwww is this helping?! 

 

A rich person living in a rich area defending a rich celebrity by calling out a police officer who was adhering very closely to the rules isn’t exactly great strategy when you’re trying to change people’s minds about privilege. In America, cops are usually criticised for breaking the rules to commit harm against people of colour. Are we seriously criticising a cop for following the rules against a white person?! 

 

Then there’s the restauranteur who told the NY Post that the cops were tipped off about JT from the hotel about how he might get in his car. This same person believes that Justin was “mistreated” by police and doesn’t believe that the cop would not recognise him. 

He also, amusingly, took the opportunity to compliment Justin while dragging Leonardo DiCaprio: 

“He was always a gentleman,” the restaurateur said of the star. “People always recognize him, and they ask him for a picture, and he always says yes. He has the hat pulled down and the sunglasses, so it’s hard to recognize him, but some people do. “He’s not like Leonardo [DiCaprio]. Leo does not like to be recognized, and he will even curse. He does not take pictures, especially if he is with a bunch of models,” the source said.

 

Not sure what one has to do with the other and why JT taking photos with fans would mean he wouldn’t drink and drive but, whatever, this person clearly enjoyed their opportunity to gossip and took full advantage. 

The point is, someone is trying very hard to exonerate Justin Timberlake in the court of public opinion and, well, is it working? Those who were clowning on JT will continue to clown on JT – and there are a lot of us. Because it’s not just this incident, it’s a whole ass career of incidents that have accumulated and culminated in this moment where he’s simply run out of goodwill. 

That said, JT will never run out of privilege. And that’s another reason why this public and social mockery will continue. At the end of the day, we know that Justin Timberlake will be fine. He has the money and the influence to legally take care of this, maybe even make it go away, legally. He will always have his celebrity friends and his celebrity connections. Like Travis Kelce, who was one of the first to reply to Justin’s first IG post since his arrest. Look @killatrav, right up in the comment section with his fire emojis and all-caps, all the way from Europe where he’s on tour with Taylor Swift. 

 

That was a CHOICE on Travis’s part, to show support for his buddy. 

 

And these are the co-signs that JT will hold onto, and value. This is how he’s been enabled through his career. And this is why people will continue to point and laugh and meme the sh-t out his latest humiliation. Because it’s the only recourse, and even still, in the grand scheme, it’s meaningless. Being the laughingstock of social media won’t change the fact that Justin Timberlake is wealthy and protected from any material consequence. There’s a lot worse than a few weeks of embarrassment, offset by screaming crowds on tour. 

Justin played Madison Square Garden last night, soaking up the applause from the thousands of people who decided this is how they wanted to spend their money. So why are all these people trying to make us feel bad for Justin Timberlake?