Justin Timberlake inadvertantly caused a rupture on Twitter following a compliment to Jesse Williams.
Williams received the Humanitarian award at the BET (Black Entertainment Television) awards, following years of civil rights activism.
The actor gave a bold, brave, and moving speech, one that clearly resonated with Justin Timberlake, who tweeted:
@iJesseWilliams tho…#Inspired #BET2016
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 27, 2016
Responding to one critic, Justin Timberlake then followed with:
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
This seemed to re-ignite the debate around Justin Timberlake's appropriation of R&B, causing a social media firestorm. The singer then backtracked:
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
