It’s a fine line being the cool white dude in an urban community. Justin Timberlake just realized how he may have put his big toe across that invisible line.
Justin logged into Twitter to wish Madonna birthday wishes and all hell ensued following a tweet that was, of course, quickly deleted. He tweeted to the 56 year old living legend:
“A Happiest of Bdays to my mother chucking ninja, @Madonna.”
Twitter erupted before Justin’s index finger hit tweet button. “Ninja” is an alternative word for the word “nigga,” thus making it taboo for any non-black person to use the term.
Check out a few reactions below.
These are just a few of the responses Justin was hit with. He has yet to respond.
A bigger topic is at hand: when a person of another race identifies and is pretty much accepted into the black culture, is it okay for them to use the term? Especially when some of their counterparts probably refer to them as “nigga” or “ninja?” Moreover, if rage and years of oppression still hold weight with this word, why does black culture still use it as an endearment? Should the world be erased from everyone’s vocabulary?
Please weigh in below with your thoughts!
I’m starting to believe celebrities probably shouldn’t be allowed to use social media themselves because it just doesn’t end well for them. Maybe they need to get everything approved by their team before it goes out. I know it seems crazy, but ending up scandals over pictures and 140 character just isn’t worth a career they’ve spend majority of their lives building.