Justin Timberlake has said he feels “misunderstood” after a tweet about a speech at the BET Awards triggered a social media storm.

The singer tweeted that he was inspired by Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams’ powerful talk on racism.

But it sparked anger online, where many Twitter users accused him of appropriating black culture.

The 2004 SuperBowl incident – where Janet Jackson had her famous wardrobe malfunction as she and Justin performed the halftime show – also came up, with people claiming Justin let Janet take the fall.

One person responded to Justin’s message by asking: “So does this mean you’re going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologise to Janet too.”

And Justin replied:

The star has now said he thinks people misunderstood him, but said sorry if he did offend anyone.

Jesse, who gave his speech as he collected the Humanitarian Award, has not commented on the controversy.

Jesse Williams at the BET Awards
Jesse Williams (Matt Sayles/AP)