Justin Timberlake Sparks Backlash After Tweeting About Jesse Williams' BET Speech
"I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US," he wrote.
— -- Justin Timberlake inadvertently sparked a Twitter firestorm after tweeting about actor Jesse Williams’ BET Awards speech last night.
The singer initially posted a simple tweet that said he was “inspired” by Williams after the actor accepted the Humanitarian Award for his efforts to raise awareness for Black Lives Matter. But this apparently rubbed some people the wrong way, and they began attacking the singer for everything from cultural appropriation to the way he handled the Janet Jackson Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction controversy all those years ago.
One tweeter wrote, "So does this mean you're going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologize to Janet too. #BETAwards."
To which Timberlake responded, "Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation."
But that only fueled his critics more, to the point where Timberlake eventually tweeted, “I feel misunderstood. I responded to a specific tweet that wasn't meant to be a general response. I shouldn't have responded anyway...”
He continued, “I forget this forum sometimes... I was truly inspired by [Jesse Williams’] speech because I really do feel that we are all one... A human race. I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US.”
Timberlake has been nominated for eight career BET Awards and one BET Hip-Hop Award, but has never won.