Justin Timberlake attends the 'Cafe Society' premiere and the Opening Night Gala during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 11, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain)
Justin Timberlake apologized on Twitter after facing criticism for praising Jesse Williams' moving BET Awards speech.
The "Can't Stop the Feeling" hitmaker took to Twitter to say that he was inspired by Williams' Humanitarian Award acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards after the "Grey's Anatomy" star and social activist touched on the Black Lives Matter movement and cultural appropriation,
"@iJesseWilliams tho... #Inspired #BET2016," he tweeted to his 55.6 million followers, after which he received a barrage of negative tweets, including one from a user named @MrErnestOwens, who asked the 35-year-old Grammy-winning singer whether he was going to "stop appropriating our music and culture" and issue an apology to Janet Jackson after he accidentally exposed her breasts during a 2004 Super Bowl performance.
@iJesseWilliams tho...#Inspired #BET2016
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
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
Many believe Jackson's career suffered a major setback because of the incident, dubbed as Nipplegate, while Timberlake went on to become a superstar, according to E! News. The musician was quick to reply to Owens' tweet with the following Twitter post: "Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation. Bye."
Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation. Bye. https://t.co/FeTmGLOKVc — Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
His response only made matters worse for him as the outrage intensified with many people accusing Timberlake of being racially insensitive, prompting the musician to issue a series of apology tweets to clarify his intent.
Timberlake said that his tweet was misinterpreted and that his reply to a specific tweet was not meant to be regarded as a general response. He added that he should have avoided responding to the tweet in the first place.
He continued to state that he was actually inspired by Williams' speech because he truly believes that we all belong to the human race and are the same, irrespective of race or color. "I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US, he added.
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
Watch Williams' powerful acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards.
