Justin Timberlake apologizes to Jessica Biel, says ‘nothing happened’ with costar

Justin Timberlake swears that “nothing happened” with “Palmer” costar Alisha Wainwright during a drunken night out in New Orleans the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

“A few weeks ago I displayed a strong lapse in judgement — but let me be clear — nothing happened between me and my costar. I drank way too much that night and I regret my behavior. I should have known better,” the performer said in an Instagram post Wednesday evening.

He said he usually stays away from gossip, but felt the need to address it this time because his family had been hurt.

Timberlake, who has been married to Jessica Biel for seven years and has a 4-year-old son with her, was photographed holding hands with Wainwright when the two were sitting together on a small balcony. Wainwright was also shown touching his knee.

The Sun, which published the pictures Nov. 23, said he appeared to have been drinking heavily at the Absinthe House on Bourbon Street. Timberlake, 38, and Wainwright, 30, had stepped away from the group they’d come with.

“At one stage he grabbed her hand and rested it on his knee. She then gently started stroking his leg,” a source alleged to the Sun. “Then he clutched her hand with both of his and was playing with her hands.”

“This is not the example I want to set for my son,” Timberlake wrote in his Instagram post. “I apologize to my amazing wife and family for putting them through such an embarrassing situation, and I am focused on being the best husband and father I can be. This was not that.”