Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad sparked controversy within a few hours after it was uploaded on YouTube as it was accused of appropriating the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
In the ad, Jenner was in the middle of a photo shoot when she became distracted by marching protesters, which she joins. Near the end of the video, she approaches a police officer and hands him a can of Pepsi, which causes him to smile, breaking his stoic façade. Jenner and the rest of the protesters cheer upon his acceptance of the soda.
People took to social media to air their thoughts about the issue, with a lot of them accusing Jenner and Pepsi of cultural appropriation. People claimed that the company and Jenner made light of serious societal issues and that they romanticized protest movements in order to sell soda. The ad was very similar to photos taken of Ieshia Evans, who was captured calmly standing in front of cops in Baton Rouge in Louisiana as her way of protesting against the shooting and death of Alton Sterling due to police brutality. The protester was arrested for her actions.
Some also pointed out the irony of Jenner pulling off her wig and then handing it to a black woman on the side, who was left looking at the hairpiece in confusion. Telegraph called the moment "white privilege in action."
The Pepsi ad has since been pulled because of the controversy. The company posted a public apology on Twitter. It read: "Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout."
In the same post, Pepsi also apologized to Jenner. "We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position," it continued.
Neither Jenner nor her representatives have commented on the controversy.
