Gayle King defends Justin Timberlake after his drunk driving arrest, saying the singer was “not reckless”

“He is not an irresponsible person, he is not reckless, he is not careless,” King said of Timberlake

Gayle King comments on Justin Timberlake’s recent drunk driving arrest.

In the Wednesday episode of CBS Morning, King addressed the singer’s drunk driving charges. In a conversation with her co-hosts, the 69-year-old journalist defended Timberlake’s character.

“Justin Timberlake is a really, really great guy,” she began. “Look, this is clearly a mistake – I bet nobody knows that better than him.”

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When Nate Burleson pointed out that this was a very “stupid mistake,” King agreed, adding that Timberlake “knows that.”

“He’s not an irresponsible person, he’s not reckless, he’s not careless,” she said. “It’s not a good thing, of course, but he knows that.”

She then mentioned Billy Joel’s reaction to the incident, noting that she really appreciated his response. “I loved when they stopped Billy Joel and he said, ‘Wait, not everyone is judging at this point,'” she said.

Still, King insisted that the reports of “what officers saw are not good, even if it is ‘claimed.'” She added that despite all the tools available, no one should drive drunk.

“There is never an excuse for driving drunk,” she said.

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In the early morning hours of June 18, the 43-year-old “Mirrors” singer was arrested while driving from the American Hotel to a friend’s house in Sag Harbor. He refused a breathalyzer test and was charged with failure to maintain his lane, failure to obey a stop sign and arrested for drunken driving.

He was arraigned and released the same day, with orders to return on July 26 to face the charges.

Police released a statement detailing the sequence of events, saying: “On June 18, 2024 at 12:37 a.m., Justin R. Timberlake, age 43, of Tennessee was observed driving a 2025 BMW southbound on Madison Street, failing to stop at a properly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane.”

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It continues: “A police officer with the Sag Harbor Village Police Department initiated a traffic stop and upon investigation it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle while intoxicated.”

On Wednesday, June 19, his attorney, Edward Burke Jr., released a statement obtained by PEOPLE: “Mr. Burke looks forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations,” it said. “He will have much to say in due course. He is currently awaiting the full findings from the prosecution.”

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