Macklemore was called out for being a cultural appropriator, particularly after winning a major award over Kendrick Lamar. He decided to look within, do some self-critique and observe how he (once again) benefits from a society which values whiteness. The musical result, 'White Privilege II', was met with some praise; but tons of critique, based on this idea that he was capitalizing off of social justice movements.
Justin Timberlake, who has never consistently spoken about these issues, stated that he felt 'inspired' by Jesse Williams' BET Awards speech, without an explanation as to why he felt that way. When publicly called out for his cultural appropriation (and a lack of an apology to those he 'threw under the bus'), Timberlake showed no self-reflection whatsoever, and was dismissive, utilizing an 'All lives matter' mindset. There were critiques for sure, but the barrage of attacks bestowed upon Macklemore did not appear to show themselves in this case.
