Tyler Joseph Reignites Black Lives Matter Controversy

Tyler Joseph, frontman of the band Twenty One Pilots, has caused a stir on Twitter today for tweeting the phrase "Black Lives Matter."

Why is this controversial you ask? Well, it all stems from the 31-year-old being embroiled in a Twitter controversy back in September 2020 when he was accused of making light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The tweet in question included two photos of the musician wearing extremely high platform sneakers, with the caption: "you guys keep asking me to use my platforms. feels good to dust these bad boys off."

The joke, which was a play on the word "platform," did not go down well as many fans felt he was dismissing genuine requests for him to use his real-life platform to address social issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

As 2020 saw the resurgence of the BLM movement, with mass protests taking place in America and elsewhere after the killing of George Floyd, the joke was not taken lightly and Joseph's name and the hashtag #TylerJosephIsOverParty began trending on Twitter.

Following the backlash, Tyler issued an apology explaining he did not intend to cause any upset.

"my tweet wasn't suppose to be about human rights. so in case you are wondering where i stand: Black Lives Matter," Joseph tweeted.

"I just wanted to take a moment to raise awareness about something else that has meant a lot to me for a long time. but now I see there is no room for that right now," he tweeted. "im truly sorry if it hurt anyone. here is a link with a lot of great info that i stand by."

Joseph also included a resource for people to help out the Black Lives Matter movement.

Now, fans are comparing Joseph's new Black Lives Matter tweet to the earlier scandal, which has once again seen him draw much criticism online.

One tweet reads: "I'm not gonna praise you for saying this after mocking the movement a couple months ago."

While another added: "Instead of tweeting 3 words u could at least retweet some info/ways to help/petitions etc especially as you've been silent about blm for months and previously mocked the movement."

However, some are defending the singer, with one tweet reading: "People who are saying it's 'too late' are not real fans. Hate to break it to you all but you made BLM a trend instead of a movement. Instead of hating Tyler just appreciate him saying it."

Another added: "it's never too late to say this! BLM is not a trend. stop hating in the replies."