"Would like to trade Gayle King for Jane Fonda" — Internet slams CBS host over her remarks defending Justin Timberlake

On June 18, Justin Timberlake was arrested and formally charged with a count of driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Sag Harbor, a posh neighborhood in the Hamptons, New York. His mugshot has now gone viral.

In the wake of his arrest, TV personality Gayle King came to his defense, while hosting the June 19 episode of CBS Mornings. She stated:

“Justin Timberlake is a really, really great guy. Listen, this is clearly a mistake — I bet nobody knows it more than he.”

Following her remarks, the internet is now having varied reactions, with the majority calling out Gayle King for defending Justin Timberlake. Several of them pointed out that drunk driving can be dangerous:

For instance, an Instagram user with the handle @jip_soul_beautiful wrote in the comment section of Hollywood Unlocked’s post on the same:

“We the Black people would like to trade Gayle King for Jane Fonda… All in favor, what say ye?”

A netizen criticizes Gayle King for defending Justin Timberlake. (Image via Instagram/ jip_soul_beautiful)

Here are some of the other backlashes from X.

"What's one more bad take from Gayle," one person wrote.

“Covering up for each other. Elites got each other’s backs,” a person wrote.

“Why is Gayle King being allowed to rubber stamp this nonsense? LOL,” another person wrote.

“Speaking on it as a public figure makes it worse. Just let him talk when he’s ready,” a netizen wrote.

“Stop making excuses!!!! He needs help and enabling his behavior is not okay,” an individual wrote.

“Drunk driving is reckless and careless. Bad take Gayle,” another individual wrote.

“The entitlement she has is gross. Time for her to retire. She obviously doesn’t understand, ‘Nobody’s Above the Law,’” a person wrote.

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Celebrities react to Justin Timberlake’s arrest

On Wednesday’s episode of CBS Mornings, Gayle King defended Justin Timberlake in the wake of his DWI arrest. She claimed that the Cry Me A River singer is a “really great guy” and called the incident “clearly a mistake.”

“He's not an irresponsible person, he's not reckless, he's not careless. Clearly, this is not a good thing but he knows that,” King further mentioned.

When her co-host Nate Burleson pointed out that it was a “very stupid mistake,” the 69-year-old reiterated that Justin “knows that.” Gayle King also observed that Timberlake’s actions were “alleged” while also mentioning that the reports of “what the officers saw, it's not good.”

“Driving drunk, there is never any excuse for that ever,” she noted while adding that there were resources available to avoid driving under the influence, such as cabs and Ubers.

Meanwhile, when PIX11 News approached Hamptons native Billy Joel during dinner at the American Hotel (the same where Timberlake reportedly partied and had “one martini” ahead of his arrest), the veteran singer-songwriter advised caution and stated:

“Judge not lest ye be judged.”

Incidentally, Gayle King, during her defense of Justin Timberlake referenced Joel’s reaction to the incident and said she “loved” his response.

Notably, Timberlake’s wife of 12 years and actress Jessica Biel has not issued a public statement. However, a source close to her told People Magazine that she is “not happy” what his arrest, but “will always be by his side.” The source also shared that Biel did not like the “negative” attention on the family and the incident was a “distraction.”

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Timberlake was taken into custody in the early hours of Tuesday, booked, arraigned, and released without bail later that day. The 43-year-old is currently facing a DWI charge and two citations, one for running a stop sign and the other for failure to keep on the right side of the lane. He is set to appear before court for his hearing on July 26.

His attorney Edward Burke Jr. told the press that he was looking forward to “vigorously defending” his client and will issue further statements at an “appropriate time.”