Justin Timberlake’s alcohol spiral: The singer started “drinking more” before his tour to cope with the Britney Spears scandal, insiders say

Justin Timberlake is drinking more to “escape” the backlash over Britney Spears’ sensational memoir and the growing pressure to stay on the charts. Insiders claim he has turned up to tour rehearsals stinking of alcohol on more than one occasion.

The 43-year-old singer was arrested for drunk driving after drinking at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York, on Monday night. He can be seen in pictures looking completely shocked as he was led in handcuffs from the Hamptons police station to court the next morning.

Justin was stopped shortly after midnight when he ran a stop sign in his BMW X7 – he had reportedly been observed by police officers swerving across the road.

The father of two children underwent a breathalyzer test and was asked to take a breathalyzer test, which he refused.

Insiders claim the incident is intended to be a “wake-up call” for the singer, who has been using alcohol to cope with the explosive allegations made against him by 42-year-old Britney, including that he pressured her to have an abortion in the early 2000s.

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In addition, sources claim he has crumbled under the increasing pressure of competing with popular artists such as Harry Styles – and he is struggling with the lackluster performance of his last album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” which failed to top the charts when it was released in March.

“Justin was stressed because of the Britney drama at the end of last year and some of us noticed he was drinking more,” a source exclusively told DailyMail.com.

“He is by no means an alcoholic, but he has been advised to limit his drinking to keep a clear head during public controversy, as he has been accused of poorly handling the backlash from Britney and Janet Jackson.”

Justin, who had previously admitted to being secretly “drunk” and “taking a lot of drugs,” had gone out to dinner with friends before his arrest on Monday.

The Sexy Back singer was charged with drunken driving, as well as failure to stop and stay in his lane. He is due back in court on July 26 after being released without bail.

Because he refused to take a breathalyzer test, Justin’s driver’s license was revoked in New York State.

The source continued: “The guys who were there last night didn’t want him to drive because they had been drinking, but they were ignored.”

“He’s cooperating now and working with his attorney, Edward (Burke, Jr.), who’s helping him get through this. His friends have been wanting him to quit drinking for some time, so this is a bit of a wake-up call.

“The pressure of competing with artists like Harry Styles and Drake is getting to him and the lower numbers (album sales) are definitely affecting him.

“We’ve all been feeling that for some time and it’s influenced his writing process on his last few records.”

A second insider shared the concerns, claiming Justin’s recent alcohol-related incident was due to a need to “escape” poor album sales.

“It’s hard to say why someone drinks, but if it has to do with where they are in their life, it makes sense to say they need an escape,” they said.

“This will probably be his last successful tour and he is aware of that. He has a wife and two small children at home.

“He wasn’t particularly happy with the sales of his album, but then again, nobody at the label was. Everyone was expecting much better.”

A third source claimed that his drinking habits were well known among those closest to him.

“It’s no secret that Justin drinks, and the dancers know this better than anyone,” they said. “He has come to rehearsal several times smelling of alcohol.”

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The pop star will make two appearances in Chicago later this week as part of his “Forget Tomorrow” world tour, followed by two back-to-back nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City next week.

The source said he “often celebrates a good show by getting drunk,” but he can also be “flirty” – his wife Jessica Biel, for example, comes along in the evenings and “babysits” him.

“When he drinks, he’s totally flirty and Jessica has to keep an eye on him,” they continued. “She’s been out with the crew several times.”

“He blamed alcohol for his past behavior, including being caught holding hands with Alisha (Wainwright).”

Back in 2019, Justin claimed he had drunk “way too much” after pictures emerged showing him holding hands with his Palmer co-star Alisha at a bar in New Orleans.

He later apologized publicly and said he “has shown a major error in judgement,” before insisting that “nothing happened between me and my co-star.”

“I drank far too much that night and I regret my behavior,” he said. “I should have known better. That is not the example I want to set for my son.”

In October, Justin was shocked when Britney made numerous allegations against him in her memoir, The Woman In Me, including criticizing his 2002 song, Cry Me a River, because of the way it made her look.

Justin and Britney were together from 1999 to 2002, and after their split, his career took off. His albums were promoted with the story that she broke his heart.

In the music video for “Cry Me A River” he even used a Britney lookalike, who was pilloried because of the breakup.

Reflecting on the breakup, she wrote that she felt speechless and “She felt there was no way to tell (her) side of the story at the time because he had portrayed her as a “whore who broke the heart of America’s golden boy.”

“I don’t think Justin realized the power he had when he exposed me,” she wrote. “I don’t think he understands it to this day.”

The “Toxic” singer also described the “agonizing” decision to terminate her pregnancy after she became pregnant in late 2000, when both were 19 years old.

The star claimed that while she wanted the baby and “dreamed of starting a family with Justin,” he was “not ready” for the responsibilities of parenthood and thought the couple were too young.

She wrote: “It was a surprise, but for me it was not a tragedy. I loved Justin so much…

“He said we weren’t ready for a baby and were way too young.”

In January, Britney apologized to Justin for the comments and insisted she was “deeply sorry.”

He suffered another blow in March following the release of his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought It Was.”

Despite mixed reviews, the album was not a breakthrough success, debuting at number four on the US Billboard 200, grossing only 67,000 album-equivalent units, calculated from 31.13 million on-demand streams and 41,000 album-only copies.

His previous four solo studio albums all topped the charts, while his debut Justified reached number two.