Kandi Burruss is under fire after defending Justin Timberlake‘s using a “blaccent” during his early days with the boy band NSYNC.
The former boy band star, 42, took headlines by storm last month after his ex, Britney Spears, 41, recounted a time when he put on his best Black accent while meeting fellow singer Ginuwine for the first time.
Spears’ recollection of their interaction was shared through her recently published memoir, “The Woman In Me.”
Due to the revelation, JT began receiving criticism online from some Black folks who accused him of language appropriation. While he’s been the main target of backlash for weeks, Burruss became the Internet’s next victim after she advised everyone to “leave him alone.”
The former Xscape vocalist spoke to Page Six while attending BravoCon 2023 on Friday, Nov. 3, where she revealed her overall opinion surrounding Timberlake’s “blaccent.”
“I thought it was funny,” Burruss admitted, “but I don’t want anybody to, like, down Justin, because you gotta remember the times that we were going through at the time.”
She continued, “That era of pop and R&B it was like a lot of boy bands that did like urban music, urban routines and dancing the whole image. That was in at the time and nobody was passing judgment.”
The 47-year-old then noted how quickly people can get “canceled” nowadays for certain actions that were acceptable “back in the day.”
“At that time nobody knew it was like a problem, you know? So, I just feel like that was young Justin, leave him alone y’all. ‘Cause he’s honestly, he was a really really good guy,” she said.
Burruss and Timberlake are no strangers to each other, for “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star helped co-write NSYNC’s 2000 song “It Makes Me Ill.”
When discussing their collaboration, she said, “I worked with a lot of people but when I worked with NSYNC they came in they didn’t have any egos, they sung their parts, they did what I said… We laughed and joked and had a good time.”
Burruss then ended her Timberlake defense rant by asking listeners to, “Definitely give him some grace” for his early actions as a young adult.
Her message was shared on Hollywood Unlocked’s Instagram page, where unhappy commenters voiced their disappointment in Burruss defending the “Cry Me a River” crooner.
One comment read, “Kandi is always on the wrong side of history. She’s a clown” while another said, “Just bc it was “in” doesn’t negate what Britney said!!”
A third said, “I don’t understand so many people in the comments are defending him. Do y’all not remember how he did Janet Jackson and never defended her?! Plus he cheated on Britney first and he cheated on his current wife. He’s not a good person.”
Justin Timberlake once did this on stage…he definitely did what Britney Spears said he did in front of Ginuwine 😭pic.twitter.com/NUjc0MwZ7S
— Kayla Taylor (@kaylataylr) October 24, 2023
More than a few individuals began taking personal jabs at Burruss, including one who wrote, “The is the worst response to problematic sh-t. Do you know how much foul ish used to be normalized? That doesn’t make it less cringe.”
Another person penned, “Kandi stay out of it and focus on your poorly run restaurants.”
Last week, the Atlanta restaurant owner found herself in hot water after TikToker and self-proclaimed foodie Keith Lee blasted her and her husband Todd Tucker’s famous eatery The Old Lady Gang.
According to Lee, the Atlanta-based restaurant denied him and his family the opportunity to place an in-person to-go order, in addition to more inconveniences that left a sour taste in his mouth.
Once the former MMA fighter voiced his disappointment about Burruss’ establishment in a video online, she decided to respond to his concerns with a explanation in her own video However, the “Understanding” singer’s response was met with scrutiny from critics who accused her of skipping over Lee’s main issues and only acknowledging certain critiques.
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