Justin Timberlake Jokes About Race in DWI Arrest Police Body Cam Video

Even when arrested for a serious DWI charge ... Justin Timberlake was able to crack a joke with police -- namely, about his race!

Check out the body cam footage from the pop superstar's 2024 arrest in Sag Harbor, NY -- he acts confused that police labeled him as "white" when they handed him paperwork to review. He got some laughs when he told officers he was just playin' around.

The rest of the footage isn't a laughing matter -- you can see JT is shocked when he's told he must remain in his jail cell all night ... and totally disappointed -- even dropping his head -- when police confirm he's in custody for driving while intoxicated.

There was also some confusion going around on both sides ... you can see Justin couldn't quite understand what he did to get in trouble and asked the officer to repeat his reasoning.

On the other hand, the officer who pulled him over had not a single clue he was talking to a Grammy-winning celebrity ... and didn't seem to understand what Justin meant when he explained he was on a world tour.

We told you all about it at the time -- the "Sexyback" hitmaker got caught swerving in the road in New York in June 2024 ... and failed his field sobriety tests, which you can see him doing his best on above. Police say they observed him running a stop sign and failing to stay in his lane ... leading them to turn their lights on and get him off the road.

He was in the middle of his first tour in five years -- the Forget Tomorrow World Tour -- when he was pulled over ... but it did not affect his dates.