Justin Timberlake faces Twitter storm following comments on Jesse Williams' racism speech

LAS VEGAS, June 27 (UPI) -- Justin Timberlake took a barrage of criticism on Twitter following his complimentary remarks Sunday about Jesse Williams' impassioned speech on racism, which he gave during Sunday's BET awards.

No sooner had Timberlake tweeted "@iJesseWilliams tho...#Inspired #BET2016," than the backlash began. The original tweet is no longer on Timberlake's Twitter page.

People responded to his comments negatively, accusing him of being a hypocrite by benefiting from black culture but not becoming involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. He was also criticized on Twitter for the reaction he had to Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime performance.

Timberlake tweeted following Grey's Anatomy's star Williams' speech while accepting the Humanitarian of the year award.

Star and executive producer of the documentary Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement, Williams gave a no holds barred speech on racism.

"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. "Ghettoising and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is, just because we're magic, doesn't mean we're not real."

During the Twitter barrage one commenter asked Timberlake if he was going to "stop appropriating our music and culture." Timberlake responded on Twitter, Oh, you sweet soul, The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation."

Timberlake said he felt misunderstood. "I forget this forum sometimes... I was truly inspired by @jessewilliams speech because I really do feel that we are all one... a human race.

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