Singer Justin Timberlake is at the center of a Twitter storm after a tweet he posted on Sunday about actor Jesse Williams’ poignant BET Awards speech.
Williams addressed racial issues, social justice and cultural appropriation in his acceptance speech for the Humanitarian Award. Watch it below.
Justin initially tweeted, “@iJesseWilliams tho...#Inspired #BET2016”
The tweet sparked a response from Twitter user Ernest Owens, who wrote, “So does this mean you're going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologize to Janet [Jackson] too. #BETAwards”
It was Timberlake’s response to Owens that started the backlash. JT wrote, “Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation.”
Users responded in force, saying Justin missed the point of the speech.
Timberlake later apologized in a series of tweets, writing, “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@iJesseWilliams speech because I really do feel that we are all one... A human race.”
The 35-year-old concluded with, “I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US. --JT”
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