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John Legend: The National Anthem Is ‘Weak’

John Legend

(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards)

Kaitlan Collins Contributor
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John Legend is now claiming that the national anthem is racist.

John Legend

(Photo: Getty Images)

After San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem as a form of protest that he said was motivated by police brutality and racial injustice — though many of his fans saw it as an affront to the military — the 37-year-old singer defended Kaepernick’s decision.

“For those defending the current anthem, do you really truly love that song?” Legend tweeted. “I don’t and I’m very good at singing it. Like, one of the best.”

“My vote is for America the Beautiful. Star spangled banner is a weak song anyway. And then you read this..”

Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass against the St. Louis Rams in the second quarter at the Edward Jones Dome on November 1, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri.

(Photo: Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

Legend then linked to an article that claimed the lyrics of the national anthem “literally celebrate the murder of African-Americans.”


The verse he’s referring to is this one:

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.:

Legend continued his Twitter rant by saying he would only vote for Donald Trump if someone held a gun to his head.

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