Justin Timberlake Cultural Appropriation Petition Passes 100 Signatures


A petition aimed at President Obama, Al Sharpton, and Loretta Lynch is gaining ground and has now garnered more than 100 signatures, but not everybody is happy about it.

As Inquisitr reported last week, a very small number of people signed a petition demanding that Justin Timberlake be held criminally responsible for his “cultural theft” of the black community. The mission statement on the petition was pretty harsh.

“Justin Timberlake has made a career out of culturally appropriating his music, looks, and just about everything else from the black community. This should be a crime and it needs to stop. It’s okay for white artists to appreciate black music, but they shouldn’t do black music. This is racism and white privilege out of control.”

However, the petition has received some criticism. Some people have even signed the petition so they could criticize it with comments.

Justin Timberlake Petition
Many people think Justin Timberlake petition is ridiculous. [Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images]
“This is literally the most idiotic thing I have ever seen. There are absolutely no legal grounds for this proposal, and Justin Timberlake is protected by the 1st amendment. Furthermore, it is asinine to assume that a style of music or a hairstyle, especially ones developed so recently, are the property of a certain race or culture,” claims Robert Mulcaire of Folsom, Calif.

“Free speech is bad and white people should be put in jail,” sarcastically says Ryan Robinson of Madison, Wisconsin.

National Review reported on the same topic and was very sarcastic.

“Yes — it should be a crime. Justin Timberlake should be able to be in actual legal trouble for making the music he makes, and it’s definitely such an important issue that President Obama should drop everything else he’s doing and handle it immediately.”

Some commenters at the bottom of the article are angry that this petition even exists.

“The stupidity and ignorance [let alone the racism] deserves a Nobel Prize in Idiocy,” says Michael Sean Fisher.

“The signers of this petition and those who take it seriously are very sad, shallow, silly people who need to leave the fantasy world of the PC bubble in which they live and get a life in the real world,” claims GeoLW.

There are many people, both black and white, who have taken to Twitter to condemn the petition.

Still, the majority of the people signing the petition against Justin Timberlake are angry and want some type of justice. For example, Aaron Jones of El Paso, Texas is angry because Timberlake allegedly ruined Janet Jackson’s career with his “white privilege.” Robert Weinstein of Houston, Texas notes that this type of thing has gone on since the days of Elvis Presley. As someone who is biracial, Harry Stein is absolutely offended by Justin Timberlake.

Like many other white artists, Justin Timberlake’s alleged “cultural appropriation” has come under attack in the past few years. In 2013, Colorlines wrote an essay about why they consider it a problem.

“Yes, Timberlake has rightfully earned his place among modern pop music legends, but he also embodies the historical mistrust that exists between white performers and black listeners that dates at least as far back as Elvis Presley’s 1950s foray into what was then called race music.

Author Jamiliah King added that Justin Timberlake likely wouldn’t have the musical freedom he enjoys without the very white music industry. However, he says that Justin himself isn’t responsible for this and shouldn’t be solely blamed. Do you think King has a point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images]

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