As nationwide protests continue to spiral into uncontrolled riots in response to the death of George Floyd, Justin Timberlake’s political stance may have cost him fans and followers.
The multi-platinum singer announced on Saturday (May 30) he would be donating to a nonprofit organization designed to fight criminal injustice for the poor.
“Please join me in supporting the Minneapolis protestors by donating to the @mnfreedomfund,” Timberlake, 39, wrote. “The freedom fund is combatting the harms of incarceration by paying bail for low income individuals who cannot otherwise afford: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org.”
Timberlake, who has often been criticized for appropriating black culture (mainly stemming from his lack of support and visibility in defending Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show fiasco), in turn, saw a noticeable portion of white supporters upset with his latest announcement.
Proud men’s rights activist Mike Cernovich wrote, “You’re funding rioters.” Houston radio personality Ken Webster accused the pop star of blindly suffering from white privilege. San Francisco Republican Party Chairman John Dennis taunted him for entering Twitter’s raging political warfare while others, accused him of funding alleged radical movement Antifa.
According to the Minnesota Freedom Fund’s mission statement, its goal is to create “A society that does not condition pretrial freedom on class or identity, that has ended mass incarceration, and that invests in restorative and transformative justice.”
Timberlake joins Kehlani, Noname, Seth Rogen, Steve Carell, Lady Gaga, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Don Cheadle, Harry Styles, Patton Oswalt, John Cusack, Ellen DeGeneres, Colin Kaepernick, Cynthia Nixon, Janelle Monáe, Liam Wong, Kali Uchis, Ben Schwartz and Halsey who have contributed monetary support to various causes — which has infuriated plenty of people.
