CeeLo Green Apologizes for 'F*** These So Called Protesters' Tweet

CeeLo Green says he should have chosen his words A LOT more carefully when he threw major shade at NFL boycotters ... in defense of his friend Big Boi.

CeeLo was on "TMZ Live" Monday, explaining a since-deleted tweet he fired off after Big Boi and Travis Scott performed in the Super Bowl Halftime show. He'd said, "@BigBoi yo big we riding wit you fam DO THAT SHIT! F**k these so called protesters you just got 100m worth of press. I'll kill for you."

Despite those extremely harsh words, CeeLo told us he meant no harm and was more trying to support his friend, than take a shot at Colin Kaepernick's supporters.

As you know, Adam Levine and Maroon 5, along with their guest stars, took a lot of flak from people boycotting the NFL. CeeLo says he was watching the Halftime Show when his emotions got the best of him.

Still, he faced huge blowback from people who were offended at the "so called protesters" remark. There were other artists -- most notably Jay-Z and Rihanna -- who turned down the SB gig to stand with Kap.