John Legend calls the national anthem 'weak'

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John Legend says National Anthem has racist lyric

Four4Four: Singer John Legend sides with QB Colin Kaepernick over Star Spangled Banner protest, even says there is a hint of racism in its lyrics

John Legend is standing with Colin Kaepernick in his decision not to stand during the national anthem, calling the "Star Spangled Banner" "weak," and saying he doesn't "truly love" the song.

"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," he wrote on Twitter.

He continued, "My vote is for 'America the Beautiful.' 'Star Spangled Banner' is a weak song anyway."

Legend then linked to an article on The Intercept titled, "Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery."

The article makes the argument that an unsung verse of the Francis Scott Key poem is a musical, intellectual and moral "atrocity." The author claims the end of the rarely sung third verse "literally celebrates the murder of African-Americans."

The verse in question reads:

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's tweets came in support of the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand while the national anthem was being played during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Friday.

Kaepernick said on Sunday that his sitdown was for "people that are being oppressed" and he'll end the protest when "I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent."

When a Twitter user challenged Legend over his protest of the anthem's lyrics, Legend responded "I agree that [Kaepernick's] protest wasn't about the lyrics. It's about the lives of people of color in America."