Justin Timberlake has been picking up some major flack on Twitter after he Tweeted his support for actor Jesse Williams’ speech on racism at the BET Awards.
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Jesse had called on the music and entertainment industries to acknowledge black culture instead of ‘extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil – black gold, ghettoising and demeaning our creations, then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit’.
Justin then Tweeted:
@iJesseWilliams tho…#Inspired #BET2016
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
Pretty harmless right? Wrong:
Did you like the part when Jesse talked about white people stealing from us? That should resonate with you.
— sockruhtese (@sockruhtese) June 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/NIGNORAMUS/status/747416571446984707?lang=en-gb
https://twitter.com/chrystallll/status/747262891859021826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
he was talking about ppl like u though. Not Protecting black women. Gentrification of our art.
— ULTRON WAS RIGHT (@dcjanfan) June 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/codykemmer/status/747268031898750976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Yeah, like how you threw Janet under the bus.
Left her hanging, talking all the backlash from Nipple Gate.— Tv Geek (@FelNez63) June 27, 2016
Justin eventually responded:
https://twitter.com/jtimberlake/status/747276674073395200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Which only served to make things worse:
"Oh you sweet soul" https://t.co/IVf7QqBy16 pic.twitter.com/a8OwXQqqDt
— Dopamine (@Nudibelle) June 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/DragonflyJonez/status/747283713168334848
https://twitter.com/Felonious_munk/status/747283831753838592?lang=en-gb
https://twitter.com/NIGNORAMUS/status/747304976192462853?lang=en-gb
Finally, Justin decided to apologise:
I feel misunderstood. I responded to a specific tweet that wasn't meant to be a general response. I shouldn't have responded anyway…
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
I forget this forum sometimes… I was truly inspired by @iJesseWilliams speech because I really do feel that we are all one… A human race
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US.
–JT
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
But that didn’t help much either:
https://twitter.com/amandainlust/status/747304047950991360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Poor Justin. Guy was just trying to show his support and bring more attention to a powerful speech about racism and suddenly he’s the most racist guy in the world. I mean I get why the second Tweet annoyed people; Timberlake saying “we are all the same” after a speech that broke down why we aren’t the same in the eyes of society/the law. But I think the first Tweet was just him trying to say “cool speech” but unfortunately everyone jumped down his throat for it and he dug an even bigger hole by trying to explain himself. Unlucky Justin.
For the time Justin Bieber was accused of cultural appropriation (by dreadlocking his hair) – click HERE.