Justin Timberlake is facing a charge of driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons in New York, local authorities confirmed to the Guardian.

The pop singer and actor was arrested early Tuesday in Sag Harbor and was released on his own recognizance – meaning without needing to post bail – after a brief hearing at the village courthouse, the Suffolk county, New York, district attorney’s office said.

Sag Harbor village police later issued a statement to news media saying Timberlake ran a stop sign while driving a 2025 BMW, drifted out of his traffic lane and was pulled over by an officer who determined the recording artist was “in an intoxicated condition”.

“Mr Timberlake was placed under arrest, processed and held overnight for morning arraignment,” the police statement said.

The New York Post reported that it obtained the police complaint filed against Timberlake, and the document alleged that the musician – with slowed speech – claimed to have had “one martini” before being stopped.

Citing anonymous law enforcement sources, the entertainment news outlet TMZ reported that Timberlake had been reveling at a local hotel and ran the stop sign in question almost immediately after driving away. Timberlake was arrested because police smelled alcohol on his breath as well as for failing a field sobriety test, according to TMZ.

Meanwhile, in a statement to Us Weekly, an attorney for Timberlake, Ed Burke Jr, argued that his client was only charged with driving while intoxicated because he refused to take an alcohol test colloquially known as a breathalyzer.

Whatever the case, Timberlake’s arrest Tuesday came almost a year after he appeared on Oprah’s Master Class and addressed his engaging in what he described as excessive drinking at one point in his career. With Oprah, he also discussed turning his life around by seeking help for his addiction and embracing self-care, as the website Singersroom reported.

The entertainer’s arrest is almost certain to ignite another round of unflattering publicity for him as he continues grappling with the fallout of negative headlines spurred in large part by his portrayal in the 2023 memoir published by fellow pop star Britney Spears, his ex and former Mickey Mouse Club castmate.

Spears recounted how Timberlake pressured her to abort a pregnancy while they dated between 1999 and 2002, when he was a member of ‘NSync as well as beginning to branch out as a solo artist. She wrote that she ultimately had a home procedure so as to avoid being recognized at a hospital – and when she ended up crying on the floor in pain, he tried to console her by strumming an acoustic guitar and singing to her.

Many music fans subsequently lambasted Timberlake, whose career thrived after he ripped off Janet Jackson’s clothing during a performance at half-time of the 2004 Super Bowl while hers suffered over the controversy of the moment. Spears later apologized for offending anyone “I genuinely care about” with her memoir and complimented Timberlake’s comeback single, Selfish.

But whatever reprieve Spears’ apology afforded Timberlake was at best fleeting. He once again gave his critics plenty of kindling by later telling a crowd at a concert in New York: “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely fucking nobody.” The remark prompted Spears to apparently retract her apology, with many fans applauding her after she wrote on social media: “Someone told me someone was talking shit about me on the streets!!! … I’m not sorry!!!”

After all that, the 10-time Grammy and four-time Emmy winner released his sixth studio album in March. It debuted at No 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 after his previous four albums had all debuted at No 1. And by April, it had altogether fallen off that chart.

Meanwhile, ticket sales for his Forget Tomorrow tour have been unexceptional. The star of the movie Friends With Benefits – who also had an acclaimed role in The Social Network – canceled an 8 June show in Columbia, South Carolina, without explanation.

And as word of his arrest on Tuesday got around, there were tickets available for upcoming tour concerts scheduled at Chicago’s United Center on 21 and 22 June – as well as at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on 25 and 26 June.

Representatives of Timberlake did not immediately address his Sag Harbor arrest. His next appearance in the case was tentatively scheduled for 26 July.