(NewsNation) — Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton thinks Justin Timberlake should be facing more specific punishment for his drunken driving in village of Sag Harbor, New York.
The former NSYNC star accepted a plea deal in his case Friday, pleading guilty to a lesser traffic offense after his June arrest in the Hamptons.
The judge sentenced the 43-year-old to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge and 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choosing.
It’s a punishment that Hilton finds lacking, especially when compared to other celebrities hit with community service.
“Boy George, he was ordered to sweep the streets of New York, and he had to do that,” Hilton explained. “In the case of Justin Timberlake, he gets to choose the kind of community service that he wants, which means, if he wanted to, he could put on a concert and devote his hours to rehearsing for that concert and donate all of the money to a charity.”
Those acts — things he’d already be doing — would help fulfill his 25 hours. But Hilton thinks Timberlake should be doing manual labor in the impacted area, rather than something of his choosing.
“Specifically with Timberlake, you know, he could have killed somebody in that community, and you should now rectify things for that community,” Hilton added.
Timberlake made a public safety announcement in front of the Sag Harbor Police Department as part of the plea deal.
“I try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself, and this was not that,” Timberlake told the news media and other onlookers after the hearing in the adjacent Sag Harbor Village Court.
“Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Still, take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
“What we saw outside of that courtroom was a performance, and I do want to applaud his legal team, because he was clearly very well prepped for what to say inside and outside of the courtroom,” Hilton said. “He didn’t memorize lines, but he knew the bullet points to hit, and the delivery just didn’t land.”
Hilton also found Timberlake’s wardrobe for the appearance typical of the star.
“As somebody who has covered Justin Timberlake for 20 years, him dressing like that with the pearls and a T-shirt and a cardigan, it’s who he is,” Perez said. “It’s like, ‘I’m so above this. … This is beneath me.'”
NewsNation’s Devan Markham and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
