Justin Timberlake has been drinking more to ‘escape’ the backlash over Britney Spears‘ bombshell memoir and the mounting pressures of staying in the charts, with insiders claiming he has arrived at tour rehearsals reeking of booze on more than one occasion.

The singer, 43, was arrested for driving while intoxicated after having drinks at Sag Harbor’s American Hotel in New York on Monday night, with pictures showing him looking shell-shocked as he was led in handcuffs to court from the Hamptons police station the following morning.

Justin was pulled over shortly after midnight when he blew past a stop sign in his BMW X7 – having already been observed by cops swerving across the road, according to reports.

The father-of-two performed a field sobriety test and was asked to take a breathalyzer test, which he refused.

Insiders claim the incident should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ for the singer who used alcohol to cope with the explosive allegations leveled against him by Britney, 42, including that he urged her to have an abortion in the early 2000s.

Justin Timberlake was arrested for driving while intoxicated after having drinks at Sag Harbor’s American Hotel in New York on Monday night (pictured)

Justin, 43, turned to alcohol after being caught up in controversy last year following allegations made by Britney Spears, insiders told DailyMail.com

On top of this, sources allege that he has been crumbling under the increasing pressure to compete with popular artists like Harry Styles – and has struggled with the lackluster performance of his latest album, Everything I Thought It Was, which failed to top the charts on its release in March.

‘Justin has been stressed over the Britney drama that happened at the end of last year and some of us noticed that he was drinking more,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.

‘He isn’t an alcoholic by any stretch, but he was advised to reel the drinking in so he could have a clear head when dealing with any public controversy because he had been accused of handling the Britney and Janet Jackson backlash poorly.’

Justin, who has previously confessed to ‘getting plastered’ and ‘doing his fair share of drugs’ in secret, had been out for dinner with friends before his arrest on Monday.

The Sexy Back singer was arraigned on one count of DWI and also cited for running a stop sign and for failure to stay in his lane. He is next in court on July 26 after being released without bail.

For refusing the breathalyzer test, Justin had his driving privileges in the state of New York suspended.

The source continued: ‘The guys who were there last night didn’t want him to drive because they had been drinking, but they were ignored.

‘He is being cooperative now and is working with his lawyer Edward [Burke, Jr.] to help him work his way through it. His friends have wanted him to drop the booze for some time, so this is somewhat of a wake-up call.

Insiders told DailyMail.com that Justin has, on several occasions, turned up to rehearsals for his Forget Tomorrow world tour ‘smelling like alcohol’

Justin, who has previously confessed to ‘getting plastered’ and ‘doing his fair share of drugs’ in secret, had been out for dinner with friends before his arrest on Monday

Justin Timberlake’s car seen on surveillance moments before DWI

‘The pressure of having to compete with artists like Harry Styles and Drake is getting to him and his numbers [album sales] being lower is definitely bothering him.

‘We’ve all felt this for a while, and it has affected his writing process on his last few records.’

A second insider echoed the concerns, claiming Justin’s latest alcohol-fueled incident stems from a need to ‘escape’ following poor album sales.

‘It’s hard to say why anyone drinks but if it has to do with where he is at in his life right now, it makes sense to say he needs an escape,’ they said.

‘This will likely be his last successful tour and he is aware of this. He has a wife and two young kids at home.

‘He has not been super happy about his album sales but no one at the label really has. Everyone was expecting so much better.’

A third source claimed his drinking habits are well known among those closest to him.

‘It is no secret that Justin drinks, and the dancers know this better than anyone,’ they said. ‘He has turned up to rehearse smelling like alcohol on several occasions.’

Insiders claim the incident should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ for the singer who has also been crumbling under the increasing pressure to compete with popular artists like Harry Styles

One source said Justin often ‘celebrates a good show by getting drunk’ but can also become ‘flirty’ – with his wife Jessica Biel joining nights out to ‘babysit’ him

The pop star has two upcoming shows in Chicago later this week as part of his Forget Tomorrow world tour, followed by back-to-back nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City next week.

The source said he often ‘celebrates a good show by getting drunk’ but can also become ‘flirty’ – with his wife Jessica Biel joining nights out to ‘babysit’ him.

‘When he drinks, he gets super flirty, and Jessica does have to babysit him,’ they continued. ‘She has gone out with the crew several times.

‘He has blamed alcohol for past behavior, including when he got caught “holding hands” with Alisha [Wainwright].’

Back in 2019 Justin claimed he had drank ‘way too much’ after pictures emerged of him holding hands with his Palmer costar Alisha at a New Orleans bar.

He later issued a public apology in which he said he ‘displayed a strong lapse in judgement,’ before insisting ‘nothing happened between me and my costar.’

‘I drank way too much that night and I regret my behavior,’ he said. ‘I should have known better. This is not the example I want to set for my son.’

In October, Justin was dealt a shock blow when Britney made multiple accusations against him in her memoir The Woman In Me, including criticizing his 2002 track Cry Me a River for how it made her look.

Justin and Britney dated from 1999 until 2002 and when they split his career soared, with his albums promoted under the narrative that she broke his heart.

In the music video for Cry Me A River, he even used a Britney lookalike and she was vilified for their break-up.

Justin has two children with Jessice who is currently filming her upcoming movie The Better Sister in New York

Reflecting on the split, she wrote about how she felt voiceless and ‘felt there was no way at the time to tell [her] side of the story’ as he had made her look like a ‘harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy.’

‘I don’t think Justin realized the power he had in shaming me,’ she wrote. ‘I don’t think he understands to this day.’

The Toxic hitmaker also detailed the ‘agonizing’ decision to terminate her pregnancy after conceiving in late 2000 when the pair were both 19.

The star claimed while she wanted the baby and ‘dreamed of having a family’ with Justin, he ‘wasn’t ready’ for the responsibilities of parenthood and thought the pair were too young.

She wrote: ‘It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much…

‘He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.’

In January Britney apologized to Justin for the comments, and insisted she was ‘deeply sorry.’

He was dealt another blow in March following the release of his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was.

Despite getting mixed reviews the album was not a smashing success and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, earning just 67,000 album-equivalent units calculated from 31.13 million on-demand streams and 41,000 pure album copies.

His previous four solo studio albums all topped the chart, while his debut Justified reached number two.