A serious controversy aroused after Justin Timberlake tweeted two days back. He had asked for people to join him in support of the protesters in Minneapolis. He also requested readers to make some donations through @mnfreedomfund. It is a freedom fund that is helping people to fight against the effects of incarceration. They are trying to bail out those people who belong to the lower-income group, and therefore cannot afford to bear the expenses.
Please join me in supporting the Minneapolis protestors by donating to the @mnfreedomfund. The freedom fund is combatting the harms of incarceration by paying bail for low income individuals who cannot otherwise afford: https://t.co/tFr8Jh7TUX
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) May 30, 2020
Several fans and followers of Timberlake stepped up and showed a lot of support, and he even garnered praise from the media. Out of all these positive people, the singer personally thanked Lindsey Yok. She had posted a screenshot of her donation to encourage people to support the cause. However, she mentioned that she had to face a lot of negativity due to her donation post.
One of you rage-tweeters really tried to get me suspended for donating money to the MN Freedom Fund. This time I’m doubling it and donating to Black Lives Matter. Join me in signing the petition, or donating if you can – https://t.co/Qywg8vYFqQ
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) June 1, 2020
After the post, almost 50,000 people posted negative comments about the request made by Justin Timberlake. The people on the anti-side of the controversy are mostly rightists. They also backed their comment with several images and graphic footage. One of the users directly asked Timberlake why he was intrigued now. He also asked why the singer was not requesting for donations when small business owners were suffering severe losses.
Why not raise money for the business owners who had their dreams destroyed?
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) May 31, 2020
Another frustrated Trump supporter commented saying that in Charleston they have beaten up store owners who were trying to make a living. The user also reminded the singer about what happened years back. He said that nine firefighters lost their lives while trying to put out a fire at a furniture store. Users also filled the post with pictures of shopkeepers, bystanders, and residents being assaulted by violent protesters unnecessarily.
Here in Charleston, they have beat up store owners only trying to protect their livelihood! They also set a furniture store on fire, and fire fighters had to go ina nd risk their lives to put it out! Years ago here, 9 fire fighters died trying to put out a furniture store fire!
— Padraven (@Padraven22) May 31, 2020
Protests are still on
Amidst all the violence and protests online and offline, Justin Timberlake chose to stay silent. He did not take any stand and decided not to reciprocate to any of the hate comments against his post. However, he did respond to people who supported him. His recent activities on Twitter were extremely minimal apart from the support tweet responses, and a retweet of NBA player LeBron James.
Cut to the music industry, the Big Three labels along with their associates have now taken up the topic of “Black Out Tuesday”. It is a way of showing solidarity in the protests against African Americans. According to the latest reports, Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group has developed a social justice task force.
The Associated Press recently released a statement in which it is mentioned that the police have till now arrested more than 4,400 protesters. The arrest is not just confined to one place but all across the country. However, the surprising part is that the hardest-hot states have experienced a lesser number of arrests since the incident took place. For example, Minneapolis, Minnesota is the place where the horrific incident took place. However, arrest cases are lesser in the town as compared to the rest of the country. It is a must mention that singer Justin Timberlake has not just asked for donations but made a considerable one himself.
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