Justin Timberlake: Why things aren’t going well for him anymore

He was probably not the only one who drove drunk through the Hamptons that evening in June. The houses there are scattered and almost everyone has a car that they get into even after three or four drinks to get home quickly; no one notices, you just have to be careful not to do anything wrong. Justin Timberlake, however, missed a stop sign after dinner in Sag Harbor, unfortunately in front of the police, who immediately pulled him over.

Suddenly there were pictures of him in handcuffs and a police photo with his eyes glassy. Of a few martinis. Timberlake looked like he was about to cry a river, “Cry Me A River,” was the headline on the internet. The singer hadn’t received this much attention for a long time. Not for his new album and not for his world tour, which took him through Europe this summer. Ten years ago it was a little different – it was an event to see him on stage: In the USA, Timberlake was considered the greatest, the perfect entertainer. But this Friday he has to answer to the court for his drunk driving in Sag Harbor. And yet he always seemed to do everything right.

Justin Timberlake has a resume that reads as if it was created in the entertainment industry’s wind tunnel. He was a multi-talented actor who could not only sing, but also dance, present and act. Even as a child, his mother drove him to every audition, including the one for the “Mickey Mouse Club,” a TV show for children in which he appeared with other young stars – such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Everyone could agree on Justin Timberlake

Then, at 14, he was selected for ‘N Sync. The boy group sold more than eleven million albums in the USA alone. After that, he didn’t want “my life to be defined by the band,” he said. Timberlake teamed up with Timbaland, the hip-hop producer, and developed his own style, R&B-tinged pop, suddenly sounding very grown-up and sexy – like in “SexyBack”. Admittedly, he lacked the tragedy of a Michael Jackson or the eccentricity of a Robbie Williams. But he had the charm of a young man that everyone likes: whether mother or daughter, father or son – everyone could agree on Justin Timberlake.

And soon he was making successful films, such as “The Social Network,” in which he played Napster founder and Facebook investor Sean Parker in 2010, very casually. “You just enjoy watching him and wonder what Justin will do next,” said director David Fincher at the time.

At 30, Timberlake had been in the business for so long that they called him a “veteran” in the US, an old hand – and that’s what he sometimes sounded like. “I’ve been working for two decades,” he said 13 years ago in an interview with the star“so almost my whole life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore.”

Maybe that’s the problem now: He’s settled into his life as an entertainer and has softened his profile. He does everything – and nothing. Should we buy a record from him next? Or watch a film with him? Then he came up with film music: his last big hit was “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from “Trolls” (2016). Then an old story caught up with him.

What a lovely story, the two young stars!

Because suddenly there was the “Free Britney” campaign for Britney Spears. Timberlake, who has been married to actress Jessica Biel since 2012, was once together with her. While he was with ‘N Sync, Spears became famous as a solo artist. Her image at the time: sweet, religious, the virginal girl next door. With short skirts and sexually charged song lyrics. Then Spears and Timberlake became a couple – what a lovely story, the two young stars!

But the relationship failed and the tabloid press blamed Spears for it: Everyone said she had cheated on Timberlake. He made fun of her publicly, in interviews, in songs. In “Cry Me A River” he dealt with his breakup with Spears. It became the anthem of the supposedly poor ex-boyfriend. She didn’t deserve his love, she lied and cheated on him. He was the victim, she was the perpetrator. That was suddenly the public opinion of her.

In recent years, however, this opinion has changed: the public has become more lenient towards Britney Spears. One could also say that the power to interpret the public narrative has become increasingly female. The MeToo debate and Spears’ Memoirs contributed to this. In them she wrote: “The media described me as a slut who broke the heart of America’s golden boy. The truth: I was stuck in Louisiana, numb, while he happily toured Hollywood.”

Timberlake allegedly pressured Spears to have an abortion after she became pregnant. In 2007, she was considered crazy when she shaved her hair in front of the whole world, but now people took her seriously. They listened to her. And they started to question Timberlake. Why had he portrayed himself as a victim back then, even though he wasn’t one? Why did he keep dragging Spears through the mud? Wasn’t she the real victim?

Timberlake and Spears are a prime example of how the values ​​of a society change – and with them the image of celebrities. When Timberlake’s “mugshot” came out in June, his police photo, Spears fans wrote things like: “Twitter has been training for the arrest of Justin Timberlake for almost 20 years.” It won’t come to that. It is said that Timberlake has reached a settlement. He will not face a drunk driving charge, but will plead guilty to a traffic violation and pay a fine. The judge will determine the exact amount during the hearing on Friday.