People Are Calling John Legend a Hypocrite and It's All Very Complicated

No good deed goes unpunished.

John Legend learned that lesson the hard way this week after his take down of R. Kelly in the documentary series Surviving R. Kelly got the Internet talking about the crooner’s relationship with Time’s Up linchpin Harvey Weinstein.

To recap, Lifetime’s six-part series premiered on Jan. 3 to nearly 2 million viewers and included damning interviews from many prominent members of the entertainment industry, including John Legend.

Responding to an outpour of fan reactions, Legend tweeted, “To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn't feel risky at all. I believe these women and don't give a f—k about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision.”

But it wasn’t claps on the back all the way around. A photo of Legend, wife Chrissy Teigen, and Weinstein looking pretty chummy at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2016 began making the rounds online, prompting fans to wonder why they hadn’t heard a diatribe against the movie mogul.

Legend responded, writing, “I took a photo with and worked with Harvey on several occasions before his abuse was known to me and the rest of the world. Since his being exposed, his company and career have rightfully been destroyed and he's been indicted. Sounds like something that should happen to R Kelly.”

Some fans shot back, asking Legend why he never spoke up about Weinstein.

He added a slightly less patient follow-up response soon after:

Finally, Legend got to the point: “No one asked me to be in a Harvey doc,” he tweeted. “I'm friends with the #SurvivingRKelly director and several protestors in the #MuteRKelly movement so I had a personal connection and agreed to appear. I don't just go around interviewing for every exposé. This is dumb.”