Kendall Jenner Faces Backlash Over Pepsi Protest Commercial
NEW YORK (CBS SF/AP) — Model and Kardashian clan member Kendall Jenner's turn as a Pepsi-wielding protester has some on social media decrying the imagery as appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Released Tuesday, the 2+ minute "Live for Now Moments" video (above) has Jenner in a platinum wig on a photo shoot when protesters amble by. She then rips off her wig, smears away her lipstick and joins them, eventually handing an officer on the demonstration line a can of Pepsi. He gulps some down, and then grins as Jenner dances off.
Reaction on social media ranged from some saying the imagery was "tone deaf," to it evoking a widely circulated photo of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans last year in Louisiana. Evans was detained when she approached police at a demonstration in Baton Rouge.
Pepsi released a statement late Tuesday night. "This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an important message to convey," the statement read.
TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
