Justin Timberlake Fans Support Him at First NYC Show After Hamptons DWI Collapse

I can’t stop the feeling!

There was no love lost Tuesday as thousands of die-hard and forgiving Justin Timberlake fans gathered at Madison Square Garden to see their idol take the stage a week after his high-profile DWI arrest.

“Honestly, my inner teenager cried a little. In my eyes, he can never do any wrong, so it was a little disappointing,” said Dila, 35, who wore a “Just One Martini” shirt and traveled from Michigan for the chance to see the pop icon.

Although disappointed, Dila was among thousands ready to excuse the “Cry Me a River” crooner for his alleged error in judgment.

As he took the stage, people in the crowd shouted “We forgive you Justin!” and “Everyone makes mistakes!”

But a few others took the opportunity to berate the singer, with one shouting “He’s a drunk!”

The two nights of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour in New York mark his first show in the metro area since his headline-making arrest in the Hamptons.

The pop star didn’t address his legal troubles Tuesday night — but he did reference his “rough week” while performing in Chicago last week.

Timberlake was arrested by a rookie cop who had a reputation for being a stickler for the law – and apparently had no idea who the singer was, although he expressed fear that his arrest would “spoil the tour “.

Even before his arrest, Timberlake had struggled to fill stadiums during his tour.

Hundreds of tickets were still up for grabs an hour before Timberlake took the stage Tuesday night at MSG. About two dozen empty seats were spread across the first four rows of the arena, selling for about $1,500 on average.

The most affordable tickets, ranging from $130 to $300, were available throughout the rest of the stadium.

Those in attendance, however, proved their undying love for the singer despite the onslaught of criticism he received last week.

“To everyone who is throwing all this hate and horror at me: are you telling me you have never drunk and driven? Have you never gone to dinner, had a few cocktails, or driven? Come on, I’ll defend Justin until the end of time,” said Michelle Altomare, 46, who has followed all of Timberlake’s tours since his NSYNC debut.

“When I first heard about drunk driving, I was a little confused, but let me tell you, I was surprised by all the negative publicity, because everyone does mistakes, we are all human. It’s not like it’s happening again for Justin. It was his first arrest for drunk driving. »

Jocelyn N., 38, had no interest in hearing the “What Goes Around… Comes Around” singer address the controversy, saying his dirty laundry had already been aired on the news: “We all know he loves his tequila.

The 15-year-old fan wore a shirt with Justin’s photo with the words “Loved Stoned,” a reference to a song from his second solo album.

“This is honestly one of the most beautiful photos I’ve seen,” Jocelyn said.

When asked if her love for the singer had already waned, Jocelyn stressed that she would continue to support him, pointing out that “we’ve seen a lot more artists do worse things.”

“He’s going through a bit of a tough time at the moment, but he’ll get through it. I just hoped he wouldn’t cancel or that if it was bad enough he would have to go to rehab. I hope he does what he needs to do to manage this tour and be a father. »

Like Jocelyn, Kristen Wentzell, 44, didn’t want Timberlake to waste his time on the MSG stage apologizing for his alleged bad behavior.

She and her three young daughters — all wearing matching Timberlake shirts — didn’t leave Los Angeles for the opportunity to see the superstar crawl, she said, emphasizing that the family was there “to have fun “.

“I just hope people can learn from it.” And people all make mistakes. And you can’t learn from it unless you make a mistake in the first place. So to the extent that people can learn from it and he can learn from it, we’ll leave it at that,” Wentzell said.