The singer’s arrest and prosecution on a drunken-driving charge has drawn the curious to the Hamptons and supplied the internet with meme fodder.Justin Timberlake, whose world tour stops in Belgium this weekend, appeared in local court by video.Credit…Pool photo by John Roca

Justin Timberlake’s world tour detoured to Sag Harbor, N.Y., on Friday, when a judge suspended his driving privileges in New York while he fights a drunken-driving charge.

Appearing in local court by video conference, the pop singer pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor for a second time. In July, his lawyer had objected to how the initial paperwork was filed and asked to have the case tossed. Instead, prosecutors refiled the paperwork, and Mr. Timberlake was arraigned again.

The celebrity saga has brought crowds to Sag Harbor. Reporters, camera crews and paparazzi have descended on the town to attend court appearances in the case’s early days, whether or not Mr. Timberlake was present.

Defendants usually must appear in person, but Village Justice Carl Irace said on Friday that it would be unfair to make Mr. Timberlake show up for the same proceeding twice. Mr. Timberlake is scheduled to perform in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday.

Mr. Timberlake, who rose to pop stardom in the 1990s, was arrested and charged with drunken driving in June after swerving between lanes and running a stop sign in a residential neighborhood in Sag Harbor in the early hours of a Tuesday morning.

An arrest report said that Mr. Timberlake’s breath had a “strong odor” of alcohol and that his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy.” He told police officers he had drunk “one martini” before getting in his car, according to the police report.

His lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., has maintained that Mr. Timberlake was not intoxicated when the stop occurred.

Mr. Timberlake’s arrest took the internet by storm in the days and weeks that followed. One widely shared meme, based on an anonymous report in The New York Post’s celebrity column, has Mr. Timberlake muttering something about the arrest ruining his tour.

“What tour?” the officer asks, not recognizing his arrestee.

“The world tour,” Mr. Timberlake explains, exasperated.

The supposed exchange has been repurposed in 2024 fashion into a near-infinite variety of contexts.

On Friday, by contrast, Mr. Timberlake was largely impassive when he appeared on twin television screens in a small courtroom on Main Street, calling in from Europe. His expression was serious and unreadable. He uttered few words, turning on his microphone only when Justice Irace directly asked him a question, and to thank the court at the end of the proceeding.

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The singer’s next court appearance is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15.Credit…Pool photo by John Roca

Prosecutors and Mr. Burke will come before Justice Irace again next week to discuss a proposed trial schedule. Mr. Timberlake’s next appearance is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15, and Justice Irace said he would decide soon whether Mr. Timberlake must appear in person. If he is found guilty, Mr. Timberlake could face a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time, according to New York law.

The trial has created a minor media frenzy in the Hamptons town, a normally serene vacation destination for New York’s moneyed set. Hours before the court building opened Friday, reporters, photographers and camera crews began lining up, hoping to secure one of the 30 seats.

Once court began, Justice Irace chastised Mr. Burke for his statements to the press, which he suggested might be an “attempt to poison the case before it even begins.”

On the stroll back to his office, directly across Main Street from the court building, Mr. Burke told reporters that he wouldn’t comment. But, in response to an inquiry about whether he was worried Justice Irace would place him under a gag order, Mr. Burke smiled slightly and replied that he was not.

“I don’t see that happening,” he said. “We all have jobs to do, and we’re obligated to zealously defend our clients and that’s what I plan on doing.”

Two doors down, waiters in shirts and ties set tables and adjusted chairs on the porch of the American Hotel’s restaurant, the very establishment that Mr. Timberlake had patronized before his arrest.

Locals and vacationers strolled past in the early morning breeze, walking dogs and pushing strollers. A group of young people in athletic apparel paused across the street to snap photos of the camera crews. A young family hoisted a toddler up to the microphones as if she were giving a news conference.

A passerby in flip-flops walking a small, fluffy dog paused to inquire what the fuss was about.

“This never ends!” she said with a shake of her head and continued on her way.