‘This Woman’s Work’ wailer Maxwell worked up a firestorm of controversy with his Twitter followers earlier today when he shared a tweet jokingly praising the “light skinned negro”.

Listing a host of performers including Drake, Prince, Chris Brown, and more, fans weren’t too pleased when they got to the last name on the last – pop pinup Justin Bieber.

The response was so brutal, the ‘Fortunate’ crooner had to follow with a number of explanatory tweets to ensure everyone understood it was a joke.

Was it worth the uproar?  You tell us:

Via Maxwell’s Twitter (read from bottom to top):

Your thoughts?