The new Pepsi commercial has taken social media by storm, as several viewers of the commercial have expressed their anger towards the controversy behind the message.

 

21-year-old supermodel, Kendall Jenner, is getting dragged down with the backlash as the commercial circulates around the young actress and what she is observing on the streets. Kendall is first shown posing and modeling during a photoshoot, as the street beside her starts to become filled with political protesters, each protesting their own political views such as the “Black Lives Matter Movement.” Kendall then turns her focus to a fellow protester who grabs her attention to join the movement. She quickly agrees to join the movement as she smears off her lipstick and strips off her blonde wig to, ironically, a dissatisfied-looking African American woman.

 

What people are finding the most offensive is when Jenner begins to walk along with the protesters, and pauses right in front a line of police officers. Kendall grabs a Pepsi from an ice tub bringing an end to the protest by simply walking up to a police officer and handing him a Pepsi. After giving him the Pepsi, she returns back to the crowd to celebrate the end of the protest.

 

Pepsi was quick to defend its commercial by stating, “Its suppose to reflect people from different parts of life walking together in a spirit of harmony.” Jenner and the brand are now being accused of using the “Black Lives Matter Movement” just to sell a product, many are also furious that the commercial may be trying to solve a social issue with soda. A woman on twitter named “reggie” took to social media to make her feelings known with, “How nice of Kendall Jenner to stop in the middle of her photoshoot to end social justice by giving that cop a Pepsi (heart eyes emoji) MLK who? Rosa who?”

Pepsi was obviously trying to get a positive response on their commercial, maybe even feeling like they made an impact on society, but of course did not get the attention they were hoping for. Many other celebrities also had many things to say about the ad, including Madonna who posted a picture of herself holding a Pepsi. Zito also posted a picture of an African American getting beaten by a cop with the caption, “Kendall Please! Give him a Pepsi” and the most talked about tweet came from MLK’s daughter, Bernice King, who posted a picture of her father stating, “If only daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi.” Pepsi has recently shared that they are sorry for the commercial and any disturbance they have caused putting an end to the release of the ad.