Which celeb set off a Twitter firestorm? Justin Timberlake of all people.
The singer caused a flare up last night after tweeting about a moving speech delivered by Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams during the 2016 BET Awards ceremony. Williams received the Humanitarian Award for his efforts to raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. During his speech, he touched upon racial issues, social justice, and cultural appropriation.
@iJesseWilliams tho…#Inspired #BET2016
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
Timberlake’s initial tweet didn’t make people upset, it was his response to this particular critique below:
So does this mean you're going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologize to Janet too. #BETAwards https://t.co/0FwBOQR24D
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) June 27, 2016
Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation.
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
The 35-yer-old celebrity’s dismissive response caused other social media users to urge Timberlake to check his privilege and use his celebrity status to speak about social issues. Realizing his mistake, Timberlake backpedaled with a series of apology tweets after getting waves of negative feedback.
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
The heated Twitter conversation didn’t end with Timberlake’s apology, his sequence of Tweets sparked a Twitter discussion with some outlining where Timberlake went wrong, some defending the star, and others wondering what exactly all the controversy was about.
