Justin Timberlake, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons on Monday night, has allegedly struggled with a hidden drinking problem for years, RadarOnline.com has learned.
"It's not a secret. Everyone knows," a music insider told Page Six after news of the singer's arrest broke on Tuesday. "He has a real drinking problem, a lot of weed — but a major alcohol problem."
"He's been hiding and masking it for years," the source claimed, adding that "everyone around him have been enablers" and that Timberlake's drinking finally "got to him."
"It's a real thing, and when you have a drinking problem, it's apparent, yet they've pushed this tour on him, and he's been a very dark place,” the tipster continued.
Another source reiterated that Timberlake has "been in a dark place" and began "drinking heavily" when the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spearscame out in 2021 and drew renewed attention to their relationship.
The Grammy Award-winner reportedly started making changes to his team to help manage the backlash he received after scandalous details from their decades-old romance emerged in Spears' 2023 tell-all memoir The Woman in Me.
"He was very concerned about his career and acting. People were very worried about him," the insider said.
A different source, however, claimed that Timberlake "has never been better" and had stopped drinking, lost weight, and started maintaining a healthier lifestyle prior to the launch of his ongoing Forget Tomorrow World Tour in April.
"He's in great shape. His tour is sold out. He's in a good space,” they said.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to a representative of Timberlake for comment.
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Timberlake was charged with driving while intoxicated and taken into custody after leaving dinner with friends at a hotel in Sag Harbor on Long Island on Monday night.
Police said that the star refused a breathalyzer test after a cop pulled him over for blowing through a stop sign and swerving on the road.