Musician John Legend got some heated backlash after his social media comments on the national anthem.

In a post Tuesday on Twitter, Legend defended San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, for his refusal to stand during the national anthem, noting that he was not a fan of the song himself.

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

— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 30, 2016

My vote is for America the Beautiful. Star spangled banner is a weak song anyway. And then you read this… https://t.co/iAE62FAbxj

— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 30, 2016

In his second tweet, Legend linked to an article titled, “Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery,” that was posted in The Intercept. In the article, the author argued that a rarely sung third verse of the Francis Scott Key work “literally celebrates the murder of African-Americans.”

Legend backed off his initial tweet in response to another Twitter user who challenged him over the lyrics.

@Lindsey50783746 I agree that his protest wasn’t about the lyrics. It’s about the value of the lives of people of color in America.

— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 30, 2016

@Lindsey50783746 but his protest also moved many people to re-examine the song itself.

— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 30, 2016

But the can of worms had been opened and Twitter users continued to tell the Academy and Grammy Award winning artist what they thought of his take on the national anthem.

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@johnlegend @Lindsey50783746 No it didn’t. His protest served as fodder to try and divide people by racial lines.

— Joel Carlton (@JoelCarlton1) August 30, 2016

@johnlegend @Lindsey50783746 Being good at singing it and understanding what it represents are two different things.

— Michael Creagan (@MichaelCreagan) August 31, 2016

@johnlegend @Lindsey50783746 And the flag represents how we value our fallen, that flag draping their caskets.

— Sven (@mjolnir59) August 31, 2016

@johnlegend @Lindsey50783746 then quit voting Democrat. Who runs the most of the inner cities who keep people down? Democrats

— Georgetta Pullen (@georgiegirl1216) August 30, 2016

@johnlegend didn’t you just sing the national anthem at the 2016 NBA Finals? Hypocrite

— Ryan (@Devonte601) August 30, 2016

@johnlegend you are taking an article that claims to know what someone was thinking when they wrote a song in 1812 as fact.

— Anthony Gentile (@Athonymgent) August 30, 2016

@csmilinich88 @OGkurrrsh619 you can love the country and what it stands for without loving a particular song

— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 30, 2016

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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