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Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph has offered a more in-depth apology following a tweet that poked fun at the idea of him “using his platforms“.
In September, the singer shared two photos of himself wearing platform shoes alongside the caption “You guys keep asking me to use my platforms. Feels good to dust these bad boys off.”
Many fans found the now-deleted joke to be insensitive after a number of them had asked Joseph to use his large social media presence to raise awareness about the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.
Following the backlash, he tweeted a series of mental health resources and explained that, “my tweet wasn’t suppose[d] to be about human rights so in case you are wondering where I stand: Black Lives Matter.”
Earlier this week (December 8), ahead of a charity live-streamed Fortnite tournament, Joseph took to Twitch to apologises once more. “It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it,” he said. “I see now how I could have hurt some people, and it did hurt people.”
tyler's apology, in full. pic.twitter.com/eRSYyXmF0v
— lua james (@poptivist) December 9, 2020
“I wish I could take it back, but I can’t and I’m truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me for it. I know some people will feel like this isn’t enough of an apology and I understand that.”
Deciding to address the controversy “because of the realness to the reaction of it,” Joseph revealed that his wife and his daughter had also been threatened following the backlash. “What I want to do is clear something up, in hopes that it happens less.”
“I know I’m not a racist person, I know that about myself,” he continued. “Not just because of the words I say but also because of my actions”. He then went on to explain how one of the first things he did when Twenty One Pilots started being successful was to set up a sports-based non-profit in his home state of Ohio to help inner-city kids. “That non-profit is happening today. It’s still going and it’s something that means a lot to me.”
The unnamed non-profit introduces disadvantaged kids to college coaches, college players, life coaches and guidance counsellors.
“This is something I’ve been doing for five years now,” he explained. “I’ve never gone public about it, I’ve never asked you guys to fund it and I’ve never promoted it because that was never the point. The point was the outreach. The point was the impact. That’s truly all I was interested in. I want you to know that I’m an ally, an advocate and a supporter of black lives in ways you may never know.”
He ended his apology by clarifying that “I’m not talking about this as an excuse for what I’ve done, said and tweeted. I still come back around and know I was wrong, I shouldn’t have done it and I’m sorry.”
Meanwhile, this week also saw the band surprise fans by sharing their new festive single, ‘Christmas Saves The Year‘.
Last month, drummer Dun and Chainsmokers’ Matt McGuire paired up to perform a set of explosive drum covers, sharing a 12-minute video where they battled out covers of songs by the likes of Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Paramore, N.E.R.D. and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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