Justin Bieber Hit With Major Backlash Over ‘Tone-Deaf’ Use of MLK Audio Clips on New Album

Justin Bieber debuted his new album, Justice, on Friday, and the singer was almost immediately hit with major backlash over his “tone-deaf” use of audio clips of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches. The album’s first song is titled “2 Much” and ones with a clip of one of Dr. King’s famous quotes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The song itself is not related to, or commenting on, social inequality or injustice, rather, it is a love song containing lyrics such as “Don’t wanna close my eyes / I’m scared I’ll miss too much / Don’t wanna fall asleep / I’d rather fall in love.”

Later on in the album, there is a track titled “MLK Interlude,” which is taken from a speech that King delivered on civil disobedience. “Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety. And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit,” King said in the sermon. “You died when you refused to stand up for right. You died when you refused to stand up for truth. You died when you refused to stand up for justice.”

The speech, as powerful and important as it is, seems to have nothing to with the next song, which again is more of a romantic theme than any commentary or the injustices that King and other civil rights leaders have fought against. Many listeners have been quite surprised and bothered by the situation, with many taking to Twitter to share their thoughts. Scroll down to see what they are saying.

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“I’ve been a big a— Bieber fan forever and Justice is [great] album but I really want to know how the MLK excerpts tie into any message of the album??? Where is his PR team and why did they let this happen? Just kinda tone-deaf in my opinion,” one fan tweeted.

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“Justin Bieber using MLK speeches about justice… to sing about his white wife?” another user wrote, puzzled.

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“Am I hearing this wrong, or does Justin Bieber’s cringey, tone deaf MLK interlude cut off (jarringly) right before the end of the word “justice” so it sounds almost like MLK says “you died when you refused to stand up for *Justin*?? Bruh,” one more user wrote.

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“Justin Bieber isn’t even talking about racial issues in his album, but he wants to throw MLK into the mix??? Tacky and tone deaf. What a weirdo,” another person offered.

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“I was actually gonna give that new Bieber album a chance, but it sounds mad tone deaf now,” one user tweeted after seeing the backlash.

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“Alright Justin, it’s a good record but real talk, opening your album with a clip of Martin Luther King before you immediately launch into a classicly Bieber-esque love ballad about missing your wife feels a tad tone-deaf in 2021,” another listener wrote.

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“Today’s example of being culturally tone-deaf: Justin Bieber’s album opening with an MLKjr quote and NOT mentioning social injustice…..” someone else tweeted, “instead singing about his wife????”

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“Justin Bieber’s Justice album is giving Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial vibes,” one last Twitter user wrote. “It’s not only boring and bland but it’s also so f—ing embarrassing and tone-deaf I want to know what was going through him and his team’s mind when they said ‘YES! this is a good idea!’”

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Notably, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center does not appear to have commented on the use of King’s speeches in Bieber’s songs and has even issued a “thank you” to Bieber, for his support of their organization.