Justin Timberlake said WHAT to Madonna?!

Justin Timberlake experienced the wrath of Twitter at the weekend, when he posted a very strange birthday greeting to Madonna.

Mads and JT have been pals since duetting together on 4 Minutes back in 2008, so it’s no surprise that they would exchange birthday wishes. What was weird however, was Justin’s tweet, in which he referred to Madonna as his “mother chucking ninja.” Followers were outraged by his use of the phrase, as it is apparently usually meant as an alternative wording for “motherf*cking n*gga.”

The tweet, which has since been removed from Justin’s timeline, reportedly read “A happiest of Bdays to my mother chucking ninja, @Madonna!! Hope you have a great one, M!”

Fans expressed their anger on Twitter in no uncertain terms:

One user expressed shock that Justin would use such a controversial statement on Twitter given the racial tension and ongoing riots in Ferguson, Missouri in recent days:

However some followers defended Justin’s choice of wording:

While it’s definitely not the most PC way to wish someone a happy birthday, we do hope it was meant as a joke. All the same, kudos to Justin for removing the tweet.