Justin Timberlake Shows Support For Colin Kaepernick’s Anthem Protest

Colin Kaepernick’s protest during the national anthem has caused great controversy over the past few weeks. Now, Justin Timberlake has weighed in.

When asked, Timberlake said this about Kaepernick’s decision to remain seated during the national anthem.

“It’s a free country and I think sometimes we have a way of using symbolism to judge people and when you get down to the matter of it, it’s a free country. Anyone can feel the way they feel and make a statement. I can’t speak to his employers. That’s a whole other issue. I can’t speak to that. That’s a whole other issue and I wouldn’t event touch that. But we’re in an interesting place right now.”

This is not the first time the star has weighed in on Jesse Williams’ BET Awards speech, which touched on Black Lives Matter. Tweeting his support for Williams, Timberlake applauded the speech for calling out the entertainment industry for appropriating African-American culture.

Timberlake was immediately called out on Twitter on what critics described as his own history of borrowing from black culture.

He responded to the criticism by tweeting, “Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation. Bye.”

The singer has since apologized for his language.

Timberlake himself has borrowed from famous black musicians. A new documentary due out from Netflix in October features a cover of “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson. The late singer Prince also noted that Timberlake had borrowed his style on Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds album.

The most recent comments come just before Timberlake is due to drop a new concert documentary on Netflix. The film documents the Las Vegas date of Timberlake’s “20/20 Experience Tour.” The film, which will be released on October 12, was directed by Jonathan Demme.

Demme is best known for his feature film Silence of the Lambs, though he also made his mark in concert films. The director was behind the Talking Heads’ film Stop Making Sense as well as a trilogy of films for Neil Young.

Demme saw Timberlake in his role in the 2010 film The Social Network, and the filmmaker described Timberlake’s character as a “thrilling hurricane of a character” in an interview with Rolling Stone. The two began spending time together. Meanwhile, the director had an eye out for a script that would allow them to work together. Timberlake, a fan of Stop Making Sense, asked him to look at his “20/20” tour to see if it would transition well to film.

The film is a portrayal of what it is like to experience Timberlake’s live show, which features not only the former NSYNC star himself but a few dozen dancers and musicians. It begins with a backstage tour of the Vegas venue before the show before introducing the audience to the many performers who share the stage with Timberlake.

Timberlake said he was not interested in the film being solely about him because the show and the tour are about the whole ensemble.

Timberlake said of his tour mates, “What happens onstage with all of us is such a good part of the show that that was what I wanted to capture. Because they’re all so good. They’re all so good and I feel like I’m just standing in the middle of them and getting to watch them every night.”

The result is a film that is required to capture a million moving parts.

The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews. It is dedicated to the late Prince Rogers Nelson, who Timberlake says can be found in every song.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]