Justin Timberlake’s Arresting Officer Reportedly Had No Clue Who He Was — And Now We Feel Ancient

The pop star was detained on suspicion of driving while intoxicated early Tuesday in the Hamptons.

Millennial music fans went into a tailspin upon reports that the officer who arrested Justin Timberlake had no idea who he was.

After the *NSYNC singer was picked up on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons early Tuesday morning, an anonymous source told Page Six that Timberlake didn’t receive anything close to star treatment during his arrest.

“The cop didn’t know who he was at first,” the source said, Page Six reported.

“Justin said under his breath, ‘This is going to ruin the tour.’ The cop replied, ‘What tour?’ Justin said, ‘The world tour.’”

The concept seemed unthinkable to those who had lived through the “SexyBack” singer’s peak era, prompting people to flock to the internet with their reactions.

The fact that the cop who arrested Justin Timberlake was “so young” that he didn’t recognise him or know who he was – is making me feel like an ancient prehistoric creature

— Olympia Kwitowski (@OlympiaKwitowsk) June 18, 2024

There are people too young to know who Justin Timberlake is? Should I start looking at old age homes or what? https://t.co/sWv08v9PlX

— Abhimanyu Bose (@bose_abhimanyu) June 19, 2024

Others couldn’t help but poke fun at Timberlake’s reported reaction.

“I fear ‘this is going to ruin the world tour’ is now my forever response to any slight life inconvenience,” one Instagram user commented under a post from the popular fashion blog Diet Prada.

Some commenters wondered if the whole ordeal was karma clapping back at Timberlake on behalf of his female pop peers like ex-girlfriend Britney Spears and singer Janet Jackson, who was more or less ousted from the entertainment industry following the 2004 Super Bowl stunt that came to be known as “Nipplegate,” while Timberlake emerged unscathed.

Janet Jackson, en route to headline a concert tonight in St. Paul, hears the Justin Timberlake news pic.twitter.com/OvxUN0mHxB

— Ross Raihala (Alpha Male) 🏳️‍🌈 (@RossRaihala) June 18, 2024

While there were plenty of people sharing their thoughts, Timberlake had yet to publicly comment on his arrest as of Thursday.

His lawyer did share a statement in which he vowed to “vigorously” defend the “Cry Me a River” singer from the DWI charge.