On Monday’s edition of The View, comedienne Whoopi Goldberg and attorney Sunny Hostin debate the backlash and allegations of cultural appropriation aimed at pop star Justin Timberlake after the BET Awards.
Hostin begins the clip talking about Jesse Williams’ BET Humanitarian Award acceptance speech and its message to white people about cultural appropriation.
“… A dominant group in a society exploits a less privileged group without understanding that group’s experiences,” Hostin explains. “It is wonderful to love Black culture, but when Black people are being murdered on the streets and when Black people are being discriminated against, where are you?”
At the 4-minute mark, Goldberg responds to Hostin’s statements. She starts by defending Timberlake, saying that he was just inspired by the speech and did not mean any harm.
The comedienne goes as far to say that Black people appropriate white culture. She uses singer Usher and his protege, Justin Beiber, as an example.
“It’s the one language in the world where you don’t have to know what’s being said to get the groove,” Goldberg says of music and Williams’ speech. “I think there is a lot of appropriation going back and forth.”
