Justin Timberlake was slapped by spectator at golf tournament, danced it off

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Justin Timberlake received a rude welcome at the 27th Annual American Century Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday. Timberlake, who had just come from SDCC, was heading out on the course along with the other celebrity players when a drunken spectator slapped him as he walked by. He confronted the guy right away but ultimately decided to walk away and not press charges. However, the guy was arrested a little later when he got belligerent with troopers trying to escort him off the course.

What was he thinking? A man was arrested after smacking Justin Timberlake in the face at a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, on Saturday, July 23.

In a video posted by TMZ, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” singer can be seen walking through a crowd at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course when a man reaches out and slaps him on the side of the face.

Timberlake, 35, stops and turns around to confront the man, asking, “Bro, why would you do that?”

After the singer walked away, security guards could be seen talking to the man who allegedly struck the singer.

TMZ reports that Timberlake, who was unharmed, didn’t want to press charges, but when sheriff’s deputies tried to escort the man off the course, things got difficult.

The man, who claimed he just wanted to “touch” the Grammy winner, appeared to be intoxicated and refused to leave, so the officers reportedly arrested him for disorderly conduct.

[From Us Magazine]

Here is the video of the incident:

It’s hard to make out what happened because it looks like the guy did just reach out to touch him but Timberlake’s immediate reaction suggests that was more than a touch. How hard the guy hit Timberlake is not the point, he shouldn’t be reaching out for anyone. I’m glad he was ejected.

Timberlake can be a first class douche but in this instance, not only was he not doing anything wrong, he was there for charity and providing a really good show along with his fellow teammates, Steph Curry and Alfonso Ribeiro. Even though former pitcher Mark Mulder ultimately won the tournament, the TimCurryRibs Team stole the show. Continuing on a tradition Timberlake and Alfonso started last year, they added a seriously smooth – and dedicated – Steph to the mix:

They were so popular, they were paired together again on Sunday, even though they weren’t scheduled to play together originally:

SFGate has a good overview of the trio’s antics along with video of them trying to sink baskets at the 17th hole. Credit where credit is due – Timberlake took a hit and didn’t let it get in the way of giving the record-breaking crowds a good time and all for a really good cause. I wish Timberlake would hang with Alfonso and Steph all the time.

What a weekend, Tahoe. #ACCGolf @stephencurry30 @acchampionship

A photo posted by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on

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Photo credit: WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos, Getty Images and Instagram

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23 Responses to “Justin Timberlake was slapped by spectator at golf tournament, danced it off”

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  1. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    He touched his face. He has no right to touch his face, but it was hardly a “slap.”

  2. ell says:

    while i wish i could slap him myself because he’s irritating, you can’t go around hitting people. that said, you can’t tell from that video.

  3. Aussie girl says:

    Damn! Where was his 9 carloads of security..?

  4. Krista says:

    What happened to his 89 bodyguards???
    Jokes aside, no one should be touched if they don’t want to be.

  5. ChellySweets says:

    Good for JT. While it didnt look like a slap, it caught him off guard & probably felt more aggressive than it looked. He definitely took the high road in this situation & im sure that wasnt easy. He was there to have a good time & pushed forward w a smile on his “slapped” face 👏

  6. Erinn says:

    I’m just imagining the guy slurring “I just wanted to touch him!”.

    You can’t do that. But that line did make me laugh for a second. And of course it would happen to Timberlake.

  7. Bex says:

    I saw a lot of people online laughing at this because it’s Timberlake, but I don’t think it’s cool, slap or not. Celebrities are allowed personal space too! I’d be so anxious all the time if I were famous and people thought they were entitled to me while out in public.

  8. Georgia says:

    Even if he didn’t hurt him I understand how unsettling it is to be touched by strangers out of the blue. There’s a beggar near a street I have to walk down everyday to get to class. Everyday he tries to grab people to make them stop and convince them to give him money. I know he is not violent but I still don’t like to be touched by stranger men. I try to walk as far away from him as I can, but I’m 5.15 and I reckon he’s 5.9 so everytime he manages to catch up to me. Again, he’s not violent, but I am very unhappy at having him pull my arms or put his arm around my shoulders and such.

    • Angelica says:

      I know you say it’s not violent but that would freak me tf out! I’m 5′ 1″ and anyone towers over me, it seems, so I wouldn’t want to imagine… I did have a man try to kiss me one day in a store (he was drunk). And I about sh!t myself once when a very large man reached around a counter in a store to try and rub my pregnant belly. I jumped my swollen tail backwards so fast and asked “what are you doing??” He said that he couldn’t help himself and he had to touch it. I said “please don’t” and scurried away as fast as I could. It doesn’t matter how anyone means to approach you. It can scare the crap out of you all the same.

      • I Choose Me says:

        So sorry that happened to you Georgia and Angelica. I’m five foot one myself so I can definitely relate to feeling intimidated by people taller and bigger than you getting up in your space. Oh and people feeling entitled to touch pregnant women’s bellies is a huge pet peeve of mine.

        Personal space people!

  9. grabbyhands says:

    Justin Timberlake was slapped by spectator at golf tournament, dances it off

    The mental image this headline produced had me in a prolonged fit of giggles. Thank you, Hecate!

    Question, why is he putting a troll wig on that Ernest Hemingway lookalike and why do they both look so happy about it?

  10. pikawho? says:

    A random hand appearing from nowhere to touch your face is the stuff of nightmares! Ugh.

    Also is Justin receiving a cocaine enema in the pic on the main page, his eyes are huge!

  11. InVain says:

    The slapping is not okay. However, either is the plastic surgery he’s had…ugh….it’s caused him to not age well. THAT NOSE – it was a choice right?

    • I Choose Me says:

      He’s always had that nose. He just doesn’t have the baby face anymore to carry it off. Don’t know what’s happening with his eyes. They do look huge in recent pics. Thyroid problem maybe?

  12. Skins says:

    Does that dude do that stupid dance every day of his life?

  13. Chanteloup says:

    I’m only scanning headlines for a moment, don’t have time to read all the stories & comments.
    Even douches don’t deserve slaps but that is the funniest headline I’ve read!! haha Thank you.

  14. Nikki says:

    I have never liked Justin Timberlake, but in this instance, I think he behaved like a “class act”. For those of you who said it wasn’t a slap, it’s hard to tell from a video how hard it was; it well could have been a slap. Even if it wasn’t real forceful, If you are walking quickly past, that’s going to have some power, and JT didn’t expect it; he was completely blindsided. We talked recently about pregnant women disliking strangers patting their tummies; who wants a slap in the FACE?! Many male stars would have unleashed a bunch of curses AND have had their security manhandle the guy, but I think saying, “Bro, why would you do that?!” was practically a yoga-like response, and it seemed to me he dissuaded his security from any retaliating. Man, I can’t imagine Justin Bieber, Charlie Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, or a LOT of other male stars being so restrained. I hope maybe he’s becoming less of a douche bag, because this was pretty awesome of him.

  15. Rino4 says:

    I chuckled at that headline too😂

  16. Margo S. says:

    What a wimp. The guy literally just touched his face. Get over yourself justin. I was expecting a legit “What do the five fingers say to the face” moment. He’s such a clown.