Pop singer Justin Bieber released his sixth studio album on Friday, and though it has received positive reviews, the 27-year-old earned the ire of the Black community for incorporating speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. in an album with few references to social activism or social justice.
The first words spoken on the album Justice are those of MLK. His voice opens the album saying his renowned adage: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
When it appears that Bieber was setting the stage for possible commentary on the country’s racial tensions, he hits listeners with a love ballad called “2 Much,” a song seemingly about his admiration for his wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber.
As TMZ reported, there’s also a nearly two-minute track called "MLK Interlude" in the middle of the album, which strangely opens for a song called "Die For You,” a dance bop about a pretty woman.
In response, critics and members of the Black community have taken to social media to express their disappointment and frustration.
TV writer Kirk A. Moore tweeted that he couldn’t understand why a movie like Selma, which was made to honor MLK’s life and contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, was denied the opportunity to use his speeches when it appeared so easy for the singer to get access to them for his album.
This is a real MLK speech on a Justin Bieber album. Ava couldn’t even use MLK’s speeches for SELMA. https://t.co/fh7LcDVeIV
— RacismSummitBookingAgent (@KirkWrites79) March 19, 2021
Other Twitter users wrote about the irony of using the civil rights leader’s messages in songs about love and lust.
lmao at the way MLK jr is credited as a WRITER for a new Justin Bieber song bc he sampled “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” in a song about how much he loves his wife. No one asked for this pic.twitter.com/4gTW167cHd
— Mandy (@amandamwalton) March 19, 2021
im confused why this justin bieber album is called justice and has a whole mlk skit if it’s just about how in love he is with hailey bieber????
— bri???? (@iamabriannaa) March 19, 2021
justin bieber sampling mlk on his album about a white woman pic.twitter.com/mrfU6NqWMM
— ⓢ (@thelake1983) March 19, 2021
Many fans contended that the late American icon would have been deeply offended to hear his messages appropriated in such a way.
mlk being credited on two justin bieber songs without his consent has to be the biggest hate crime of the century https://t.co/lzY3sxNmeC
— hayat (@theIakes) March 19, 2021
Despite the public backlash, both Bernice King, the daughter of the slain iconic leader came out in support of Bieber and his use of her father's words.
Each of us, including artists and entertainers, can do something.
Thank you, @justinbieber, for your support, in honor of #Justice, of @TheKingCenter’s work and of our #BeLove campaign, which is a part of our global movement for justice. #MLK
#EndRacism
https://t.co/nTkR1XdcvW— Be A King (@BerniceKing) March 18, 2021
According to TMZ, the singer sought permission from the King estate to use the audio. In honor of his album’s namesake, Bieber recently tweeted that he was donating to organizations that “embody what justice looks like in action.”