It might be troublesome for Justin Timberlake to recuperate from the backlash brought on by his DWI arrest, says a PR skilled because the singer gears up for an upcoming courtroom listening to.
After pleading not responsible following his June 18 arrest in Sag Harbor, New York, Timberlake, 43, has a July 26 courtroom date however shouldn’t be anticipated to seem in individual as he might be in Poland for his world tour. Nevertheless, the authorized proceedings hooked up to his arrest isn’t the one battle Timberlake has to face and he could have a a lot more durable time attempting to persuade the courtroom of public of his innocence.
In keeping with award-winning PR consultants, Eric Yaverbaum, the CEO of Ericho Communications, Timberlake made a grave error within the weeks after his arrest when he tried to joke in regards to the incident whereas performing a live performance on June 29.
“So, uh, is there anybody right here tonight that’s driving?” Timberlake requested Boston crowd. Yaverbaum advises Timberlake to stay silent on the topic, criticizing the singer’s flippant angle because the “worst factor” to do.
“It simply doesn’t come off properly in any method, form or kind, to me, that’s a mistake,” Yaverbaum says of the joke.
“There’s pending authorized points,” he continues. “So usually talking, what I counsel everyone is… let it wind itself via the courtroom earlier than we begin attempting to handle the story.” He provides, “The worst factor that might probably occur is, is that he would say one thing that may make this case even worse for him.”
For Timberlake’s critics, his DWI arrest was simply the most recent in a slew of destructive tales stacking up in opposition to the singer.
In 2021, Timberlake confronted a reckoning after the discharge of Framing Britney Spears. The “Mirrors” singer was criticized for a way he handled ex-girlfriend Britney Spears within the aftermath of their break up.
Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic by way of Getty Photos
Shortly, folks on-line joined in to level out that Timberlake additionally used Janet Jackson as a scapegoat amid backlash over their 2004 Tremendous Bowl halftime efficiency by which he by chance uncovered her breast. Jackson was vehemently lambasted and blamed for the incident.
In response to mounting condemnation, Timberlake issued a imprecise apology by way of a now-deleted Instagram put up on February 12, 2021 with out mentioning Spears or Jackson by title. “I’m deeply sorry for the instances in my life the place my actions contributed to the issue, the place I spoke out of flip, or didn’t communicate up for what was proper,” he wrote.
“Folks may think about it a deferred karma [or] comeuppance,” Yaverbaum says of the response to Timberlake’s arrest. “Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, he at all times appears to stroll out unscathed.”
Yaverbaum advises that Timberlake may be taught a factor or two from the various complaints of individuals on-line. “Public sentiment being what it’s, what’s most vital is to listen to it,” he says. “You make cash as a result of you might have followers. Hear what they’re saying and in the event you don’t need to, you run the chance of promoting much less music, being much less fashionable, making much less cash. If that’s a danger you need to take, superb.”
Earlier than you go, click on to see celebrities who’ve frolicked in jail.