Justin Timberlake apologizes to Jessica Biel after his ‘strong lapse in judgment’

Nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION for her role in "The Sinner," actress Jessica Biel and husband Justin Timberlake attend the 75th Annual Golden Globes Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 7, 2018.

Late last month, we saw photos and a video of Justin Timberlake getting drunk and handsy with his pretty young costar, Alisha Wainwright, in New Orleans. JT and Alisha were working together on a film called Palmer, and it appeared as if they were in a larger group of people from the film, out at a bar in the French Quarter. But the video and photos showed Justin and Alisha sitting side-by-side, holding hands and looking especially friendly. Her hand was even on his leg (his thigh) at one point. It was also clear that Justin was pretty drunk. Pretty much within hours of the photos and video getting published online, Justin’s people had sent out weirdly worded denials to most major outlets. “Sources” tried to explain or excuse the incident, and there was a streak of indignance too, like “how dare anyone notice/suggest that Justin Timberlake cheats on his wife.”

Honestly, since the story broke, I’ve barely thought about it. It was not shocking in the least to hear a story about Justin possibly-probably cheating on Jessica Biel, because there were always stories about his infidelities while they were dating too. And this particular story just died down. It’s not that we believed his denials, it was more like we just didn’t care at this point. But now, a week and a half later, Justin wants to apologize publicly to Jessica Biel. He posted this message on his Instagram:

I stay away from gossip as much as I can, but for my family, I feel it is important to address recent rumors that are hurting the people I love.”

A few weeks ago I displayed a strong lapse in judgment — but let me be clear — nothing happened between me and my costar. I drank way too much that night and I regret my behavior. I should have known better. This is not the example I want to set for my son. I apologize to my amazing wife and family for putting them through such an embarrassing situation, and I am focused on being the best husband and father I can be. This was not that.

I am incredibly proud to be working on Palmer. Looking forward to continuing to make this movie and excited for people to see it

[From Justin’s IG]

“I stay away from gossip as much as I can…” There were literally photos and a video. This wasn’t an idle gossip story, some tabloid saying “our sources claim something is happening!” In this situation, there’s EVIDENCE. We weren’t sitting around, trying to make this gossip happen. As for Justin’s apology to Jessica… it’s fine. I actually do believe that Justin was just drunk as hell and that he regrets his behavior. But I also wonder why it took him this long to say that, and to publicly apologize to his wife.

People's Choice Awards - Arrivals

Justin Timberlake at arrivals for Songwr...

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.

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109 Responses to “Justin Timberlake apologizes to Jessica Biel after his ‘strong lapse in judgment’”

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  1. MattyLove says:

    Lord, that man has some “crazy eyes.” 😳

  2. Pixie says:

    So….he definitely cheated then? I am presuming Jessica demanded a public apology because this is a little odd.

    • Arizona says:

      I know blind gossip is very unreliable, but they just had a blind about Justin moving to a different publicist and them not having time to immediately fix his cheating stuff like his old publicist used to, and that his wife was pissed off that he hadn’t been able to change public perception yet. this does seem to fit that blind.

      • Originaltessa says:

        It’ll be pretty hard to change public perception of another woman’s hand stroking his inner thigh… He got caught. There are pictures. It’s like Prince Andrew’s sweat glands… At a certain point you’re digging the hole deeper.

      • daniela says:

        BG and Enty are full of it, their Blind items always “expand” on what has already happened.Enty has a disclaimer on the bottom of his site even mentioning that most of his stuff is made up. Also, Perez Hilton has been ranting for weeks how his publicist spent all weekend calling every outlet. So the perception that his publicist was too busy with another client is not true.

      • Kebbie says:

        @Daniela This. A story breaks, then BG runs a “blind item” with an extra detail or two that they made up or something that everyone else already believes (ex: Kate Beckinsale dated Pete Davidson for publicity.) CDAN is straight up fiction not based in any reality at all.

      • minx says:

        Blind Gossip is a MAGA-infested swamp of BS.

    • (TheOG)@Jan90067 says:

      “Dear Jessica,
      I’m so very sorry I got caught on video cheating on you. Or attempting to; I was pretty wasted hehehe. Anyway hon, next time I cheat I will try and be more circumspect.
      Gotta run! Hi to the kid!
      J”

      Yeah… I believe he’s reallllllly sorry… he got caught out publicly. Only.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Yeah that’s what read about this – it also reads that he is throwing Alisha under the bus just like Janet.

      • Mtec says:

        @Digital Unicorn
        I came here to say the same thing. I dunno why, maybe because it’s him, but calling her his costar instead of by name sounds so dismissive. And why, if he is claiming it’s his drunken ass’ fault, is he not offering a public apology to Alisha for dragging her into this mess? I feel like he probably led her on and now is trying to distance himself from her and not considering how it makes her look.

      • Ivy Rose says:

        Yes! This! I thought he was starting a sentence, “I am incredibly proud to be working with Alisha Wainwright…” And then realized wait no, he’s proud of the MOVIE. No apology to her at all. He put her hand on his knee, right? And whether he did or not, who had the power in that whole dynamic? Classy.

      • Chaine says:

        That’s what I thought, too! Maybe his people thought Alisha would be out there denying everything on his behalf, and when she didn’t, they gave this statement that kind of makes it sound not like he admits did something wrong but like his costar is distasteful. I bet the atmosphere will be icy for the rest of this film shoot!

      • Kebbie says:

        That was my impression too. He was SO drunk, so he is absolved. She wasn’t as drunk, so she’s not.

      • Sparkle says:

        I don’t see that from my perspective. They both acted inappropriately. She had her hand on his thigh and was holding his hand. He grabbed her hip and was wasted. They both were being scandalous and were caught red handed.

        I think he refers to her as his costar because well…she is his costar. They are colleagues in a work setting. Its an accurate description. And also might have been used to re-frame the relationship in a platonic way to appease his wife.

        How awkward must that movie set be now…and if/when Jessica shows up to visit can you imagine the awkwardness…

      • Sumodo1 says:

        @Digital Unicorn—that’s it. Plus, no words of love for Jessica. JT is “Janet-ing” this situation. Announcement of a separation and rehab coming down the pipe soon.

    • LadyLaw says:

      I saw the apology and just assumed that he spent the past week and a half trying to figure out how he could blame this on Alisha since that worked with janet Jackson.

  3. SM says:

    I love it how people who get caught and are still ashamed to admit any wrongdoing phrase those non denials: “I did nothing wrong, but sorry I had made a bad judgement so I apologise for what I did, I should have known better. Nothing really happened, but I promise, I will work on being a better husband”.

    • Dee Kay says:

      Totally. If nothing was done, then there’s nothing to apologize for. If something happened, then f–king say so and apologize for what happened!!

    • Lulu says:

      This was a total non-apology and he also left the door opened for his co-star to take the heat. Justin is the worst- ego-maniac narcissist who doesn’t take accountability and loves blaming women….border line misogynist. And I’d bet it wasn’t his idea to apologize…..his publicist and wife made that happen.

  4. Briar says:

    I felt discombobulated when I read “several weeks back” in both the article and JT’s statement because I really felt like it was only a week or so ago. Then I checked the date of the last article and it was November 24th, with the linked article from The Sun being from November 23rd… So a week and a half ago. I only bring this up because, unless the incident itself happened much earlier and The Sun held onto the footage for a while before releasing it, I feel like JT is trying to speed up our collective forgetting of the incident by taking about it as if it happened much further back than it actually did. I hesitate to use the term gaslighting here, but… It gives me pause.

    • Some chick says:

      This is an interesting observation. Especially considering how he was clearly pursuing her. Moving her hand, etc. She really didn’t seem into it – and let’s not forget, he is her boss on this movie.

      I think he’s trying to Janet her. And I hope it fails. (I haven’t been able to stand him since.)

      Run, Jessica, run!

      • Bunny says:

        I don’t think she’s going anywhere. She knew what he was before they got married, and married him anyway.
        ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
        Some women choose fame/money/comfort over love.

  5. Lucy2 says:

    This is weird to me. Why not do this when the stuff first came out, rather than now when everyone had already kind of forgotten about it? It’s all back in the new cycle again now.

    • Casey says:

      True! I figured it blew over. Now here it is again.

    • Jenns says:

      I thought the same thing. Everyone moved on from this story.

      But Justin needs to make everything about Justin, so of course he posted this on Instagram. I think he just wants the attention.

    • Jess says:

      I would bet he did this now because Jessica isn’t letting it go. He got caught very publicly this time, and this is his grand gesture apology to get her to forgive him.

      • daniela says:

        Well rightfully so for her not letting it go so easily.

      • AnnaKist says:

        That’s what I thought, too. She’s been giving him curry behind the scenes, hence the belated public apology. Until next time. Not relevant, but her top lip is more plump than her bottom lip, even while smiling widely. Odd, that.

      • Jess says:

        Oh I wouldn’t let it go either, but I would let his ass go right out the door. There’s always been rumors that he cheats and she just looks the other way, harder to do when he gets caught so publicly.

      • tealily says:

        Yeah, I’m sure this is for her and not us.

      • Liz version 700 says:

        To borrow from another blog (Chumplady) he treats his wife as an appliance. Dear world, The wife appliance is on the fritz over that silly pic with what’s her name so oops I was drunk. I am so sorry…. wife appliance what is your name again?

    • jenner says:

      he’s in the doghouse!

  6. Nancypants says:

    Can you believe this sh*t?

    Well, I think she knew what she was getting into.
    JT is a narcissist and a serial cheater and, of course, it’s the alcohol’s fault AND didn’t he come out years ago and brag that he took Britney’s virginity?
    I just can’t with this dude.

    “What goes around comes back around.”

    • Me Again says:

      Oh and at the end when he turned his “apology” into a plug for his new project? He is truly such an a-hole.

      #TeamJanet

  7. Oh No says:

    …cry me a river

  8. Erin says:

    I’m just here to comment on that atrocity of a dress. What in peplum candy cane hell is that and who allowed her to wear it

    • JaneDoesWork says:

      SAME. It looks like something Katy Perry sold on Poshmark from her “Teenage Dreams” tour meet and greets.

      • Corrine says:

        It looks so much like wrapping paper I almost can’t believe it’s actually a dress. She’s too pretty for Pepto candy cane wrapping paper with peplum….

    • megs283 says:

      Aw, I love it. I could not pull it off, but Alisha is so gorgeous!!! She looks like a beautiful candy cane and I mean that as a compliment.

      • Some chick says:

        Can totally see what the designer was going for. I like it.

        #TeamAlisha
        #TeamJanet
        #TeamStopThrowingBlackWomenUnderTheBusBecauseYouSexuallyHarrassedThem

        Sorry for messing up the formatting.

    • MsIam says:

      Yeah, not loving that dress at all. Maybe if the skirt was a solid color? Maybe?

  9. Lady Baden-Baden says:

    I would imagine it took him so long because he didn’t want to do it (let’s be honest – he’s a knob and it sounds like he has “lapses” in his commitment to his wife pretty often…) but eventually was forced to give in after pressure from the studio/money people behind Palmer. Not a good look for the movie, after all

  10. spike says:

    i always believed that he must have fueled Britney’s insecurities with his narcissism. everytime he pops up on tv or the socials i breathe a sigh of relief that no matter how bad we thought Federline was, at least she didn’t get stuck with Justin, the incredible douche

  11. Originaltessa says:

    I totally forgot about this… Thanks for the reminder, JT?

  12. girl_ninja says:

    Why release a statement?

  13. Original Jenns says:

    This apology is bad. He doesn’t name his wife but is able to plug and name his movie??? What are you doing JT? Is this any publicity is good publicity for his next film?

    • Rapunzel says:

      Yeah, it’s telling, this fact. Jessica only exists to him as an extension of himself…. a la his song mirrors.

  14. dd says:

    The wording “strong lapse in judgement” doesn’t make sense. “Major lapse” or “Severe” would be better.

    • Originaltessa says:

      I hate that being faithful and true to your wife and son is a judgment call in his eyes. It’s not like choosing to speed so that you won’t be late for work. It’s not a choice that should be measurable like that. You just don’t do it. The fact that he did? Get out, Jessica. He doesn’t care about you or your heart, just how this is inconveniencing him.

    • Mumbles says:

      I saw that too. Makes no sense, not the right word. I chalked that up to Timberlake not being that smart, and certainly not as smart as he thinks he is. A professional publicist wouldn’t have said that, which adds credence to the rumor suggested above that Timberlake is between publicists.
      Geez, for normal people, and even a lot of celebs, this is a private matter, and not something you put on Instagram. This seems more like a press release a corporation releases when there’s a product recall. I don’t think this is a normal marriage.

    • Alexandria says:

      Omg I thought I was the only one who thought the phrase did not make sense.

  15. Eenie Googles says:

    I had totally forgotten about this until now.

    I assume he thinks he’s more newsworthy than he actually is, and that we were all still talking about it.

    But we were not.

    Dumbass.

  16. Sassbr says:

    I hate when celebrities make public apologies for private things. It means nothing. It’s just a big show. Like say what you will about Ashton Kutcher, but when people were calling for him to apologize publicly to Demi Moore this year, he didn’t do it and I think that was at least refreshing. Like if I was famous and I cheated on my husband, I would not comment on it publicly, I don’t care what the interest is.

  17. rrabbit says:

    Translation: “I was so drunk that I passed out. Nothing happened, or if anything happened, I was too drunk to remember any of it.”

  18. Ang says:

    I do believe Justin is a narcissist and I feel bad for Jessica, his behaviors are very damaging to her self worth. I can’t believe the fans and fame he once had, I don’t care for him and I think she is very beautiful and could do better by far than that cheat!

  19. JaneDoesWork says:

    Yikes. I wonder if Jessica makes more trips to visit him on location. If I were Alisha I’d feel super uncomfortable with the whole situation and would avoid him like the plague. I don’t know what he told you girl, but he is very much married. If it were me, and I was his wife, it wouldn’t be about how far they went but just that he disrespected me and our family in public. I’d pull a Katie Holmes in a hurry and blindside his ass with a divorce.

  20. Darla says:

    Alisha will be the one who pays for this, and her career will suffer, or even be over. I knew that as soon as I saw the pics/video. I cringed.

  21. Mego says:

    Glad to hear that he is sorry for what he did and hope he stands behind his vow to not cheat on his wife. What he did was unfaithful imo.

  22. Zapp Brannigan says:

    Narcissist’s Prayer

    That didn’t happen.
    And if it did, it wasn’t that bad.
    And if it was, that’s not a big deal.
    And if it is, it is not my fault.
    And if it was, I didn’t mean it.
    And if I did.
    You deserved it.

    Just for future reference JT

  23. Starkille says:

    This man is approaching 40 and still using “I was drunk” as an excuse for acting the fool. How mature and attractive. I am no fan of Biel, but surely to god she can do better than this pitiful excuse for a husband?

    • Andrea says:

      I have a friend with young babies, her husband stayed out until 9am at a bachelor party and claimed he slept on some dude’s couch. We live in a major city, why not taxi or uber? I have thought he was a cheater ever since. Some men never grow up.

  24. Jess says:

    Ugh, for some reason this just makes it worse. He’s such a douche!! He cheated, you don’t rub on each other like that unless you’ve been banging.

    Jessica probably insisted he publicly apologize, this is embarrassing for her. We all know he cheats but it’s harder to forgive him when the whole world knows this time.

  25. MellyMel says:

    Got to love an apology where you also plug your movie. He’s just so…ugh!

  26. Annie says:

    Maybe he was hoping it would all go away but I bet things aren’t great at home because of this. If nothing happened and the relationship is fine, you don’t even issue a statement. You just pose together over Thanksgiving on Instagram and let the pictures speak for themselves, and they didn’t do that. Also, I hate how he can’t even name his costar. That girl also needs to explain herself because she was gladly getting cozy with Justin and she did not look drunk.

    I’m not buying this excuse. It’s Justin after all. Jessica has always deserved better.

    • Some chick says:

      Well, he is her boss… he moved her hand. You can see it in the video. She wasn’t hanging on him. She was tolerating it and trying to be a good sport. To her sloppy drunk boss. She didn’t seem into it.

  27. deezee says:

    Maybe the public apology has come out because it was barely a blip on the gossip scene. Yeah he (maybe) cheated *coughprobablycheated*. But it was a shrug and everyone moved on. I think Justin thinks he is a bigger star than he actually is these days and this was to try and get himself back into the headlines. I don’t know of anyone that was waiting to hear more on this.

  28. Carolnr says:

    I don’t think All is well in Justin’s family. I imagine Jessica is p$ssed ( and who could blame her!)
    I would bet that Justin did this apology because Jessica is probably not speaking to him ( and who could blame her!)
    Both Justin & his co-star are at fault. Justin should have stopped her & she did not care that is married & has a child! She also owes Jessica an apology & hopefully she did in private.
    Now for that apology….it was a half-a$$ed apology. ( Justin clearly wrote that up himself)
    It started out decent but then he brought the focus back to himself & his movie!!!
    If I were Jessica, ( if I wanted the marriage), I would make him “jump through hoops” for a very Long time!!!

  29. jenner says:

    I think you missed the point of this apology. The point is that he’s in the movie Palmer! And he’s very proud of it, and hopes you drop some $ on it when it comes out.

    • Maria says:

      Most apologies don’t come with shameless plugs. I think this is all PR. If not he definately is sticking true to his old playbook where it’s never his fault but the mean black woman.

      • jenner says:

        Best apology ever was Mario Batali apologizing for sexually harassing women, and then adding: p.s. here’s a recipe for cinnamon buns.

  30. Mar says:

    I think he handled this the best way that he could have. It probably took a few days of rationality for him to make a public statement.

  31. Notsoanonymous says:

    The more photos I see of JT, the more I’m convinced that he has a procedure in his eyes to open them up more. He looks strung out, sure, but he looks very different as well.

    Also, Jessica… I don’t know what her deal is, why she stays, but this guy is ALL about himself. And I say that as someone who has always been a fan of his, but wow.

  32. Marianne says:

    Is it me…or does this situation now sound worse? Like, if the situation was really that bad that you had a “stong lapse in judgment” then maybe you should deal with this with your wife in private.

    I dont know it just feels like he cares more about his self image rather than his wife (although to be fair…this just makes him sound super guilty..so I dont know if that really helped).

  33. Sean says:

    In regards to the people saying Jessica deserves better, does she though? She’s pretty egotistical herself with her “I’m too beautiful to get hired” and attempting to prevent vaccination laws.

    I’ve always felt they deserved each other.

  34. Steff says:

    In the immortal words of Jean Ralphio: “He’s the wooOOOooorrrRrrSsssttt!”

  35. Whatabout says:

    This is the same PR firm Harry and Meghan hired. And now I’m a little concerned for them. Though one of the partners of the firm were at their wedding and now I’m wondering if this person has been advising them. Hmm.

  36. Lala11_7 says:

    Welp…it seems that if you’re a Black woman…and you work with JT…get ready to have SEVERAL VERY LARGE MEGA BUSES ran over your tail….

  37. Appalachian says:

    Nothing do Jessica Biel but to get this man to the alter. She clung on and did not let go 🤦🏻‍♀️ Got all depressed and had her friends worried whenever they’d go on “break”….She wanted him to marry her so bad and he is such an awful ass.
    This is where that got us. She needs to get out, she is still young and somebody out there will absolutely treat her better. He has coke eyes now.

  38. DonnaInMichigan says:

    With any cheater, he’s not sorry about the act, he’s sorry he got caught.

  39. what's inside says:

    He really is an immature tool. Guess what? Apology or not, I will not be seeing your movie or any other thing that you are associated with because I just do not like you.

  40. Ruyana says:

    I have the strong feeling, after seeing all those photos of his extremely worried face yesterday, that he was *ordered* by the producers of “Palmer” to apologize publicly *or else*.

  41. M.A.F. says:

    Is it an apology when you plug your movie?

  42. Suzieq359 says:

    He is definitely behaving like he did with the Janet situation so no surprise here. He is still trying to come out smelling like roses.

    If he is in fact Alisha’s boss for the movie, this situation really puts her in a bad situation. Him putting her hand on his thigh, or whereever else the camera didn’t catch, would definitely be HR worthy in corporate America but Hollywood seems to follow other rules.

    As for the statement now this is partly Jessica and partly the backers of the movie. Jessica has taken a few pap walks to look like the scorned wife and like everyone has said no one cares and has moved on but boring Jessica wants more PR now that everyone isn’t distracted by Thanksgiving and Black Friday and can look at her.

    The studio probably also doesn’t want folks to tune out a movie that’s not even completed yet because the stars were engaging in inappropriate behavior.

  43. ChillyWilly says:

    What a tool. That apology just made the situation worse! Did Jessica want him to put out a public apology? I would be totally humiliated if I were her. He should have left it alone. Such a selfish d-bag.

  44. Fernie says:

    Jessica and Justin have a pre-nup and there’s something about infidelity in there. Jessica was smart enough to protect herself and she realized that he had problems with cheating.

  45. Yawn says:

    Straight up NON apology work plug… this douche should be ashamed of himself… Jessica dear, please RUN