Social justice warriors targeted Justin Timberlake for culturally appropriating black music and won. After he initially defended himself and said all humans are the same, he quickly backpedaled and apologized.
Timberlake said he was inspired by the actor Jesse Williams’ speech at the BET awards where he went on a social justice warrior rant, attacking “whiteness” and cultural appropriation.
“We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us. Burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil. Black gold,” Williams said in his award acceptance speech.
“Ghettoizing and demeaning our creations, then stealing them, gentrifying our genius, then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit,” he continued. “The thing is though, just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.”
Somehow Timberlake tweeted that he was inspired by this rant and retweeted that he would want to see Williams run for president in 2016.
The former N’SYNC member immediately came under attack by #BlackLivesMatter activists for making music similar to black artists like Michael Jackson.
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
Timberlake responded by claiming that all humans are the same and felt the hot hot hate of social justice warriors who only see the world in black and white.
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
I actually love Justin Timberlake’s music, but his opinion is so trash. As a white person, you’re not allowed to say “we are all the same”
— big papa (@sluttyblackboy) June 27, 2016
y’all was just inviting Justin Timberlake to the cookout, now he’s appropriating the culture? ? pic.twitter.com/MtII8mRkGy
— Rah. (@thatguydream) June 27, 2016
@jtimberlake @iJesseWilliams Did you like the part when Jesse talked about white people stealing from us? That should resonate with you.
— sockruhtese (@sockruhtese) June 27, 2016
@jtimberlake @iJesseWilliams Its you!!!! you’ve been using black people for years and when we get murdered YOU ARE SILENT. GO TO BED, SIS.
— Nubia Baptiste (@OliviaandFitz) June 27, 2016
The singer buckled to #BlackLivesMatter activists faster than Bernie Sanders gave up his microphone and apologized for daring to say that all humans were the same.
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
It’s unclear whether it was his public relations team that forced him to apologize or the fact that he lacks a backbone. Either way, Timberlake gave an easy win to social justice warriors and their charges of cultural appropriation and racism.
