Tyler, the Creator’s Controversial Mountain Dew Ad Pulled Off the Air
Tyler, the Creator‘s new Mountain Dew ad has been pulled off the air. The 60-second commercial has been decried as a perpetuation of racial stereotypes and a downplaying of violence against women.
Developed by the Odd Future leader, the clip shows a battered woman eyeing a police lineup. Each suspect is a black male except for a goat, who’s the real culprit. The goat intimidates the flustered woman with statements like, “You better not snitch on a player” and “Keep your mouth shut,” and she eventually runs away and yells, “I can’t do this!” It’s an apparent reference to Mountain Dew’s “Dew It” slogan.
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A spokeswoman for Mountain Dew’s parent company, PepsiCo, said Tyler, the Creator had “final approval” for the commercial, but she wasn’t aware of the details of PepsiCo’s involvement, according to The Associated Press. Also, she said the ad was never supposed to air on TV.
Mountain Dew has their plate full right now, as they’re also dealing with calls demanding that Lil Wayne be dropped from his sponsorship deal with the company. The Young Money rapper has sparked outrage over his crass lyrical reference to Emmett Till – the 14-year-old boy who was tortured and lynched in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman – and Till’s family has said they’ll pursue action to get Lil Wayne dropped from his Mountain Dew deal, according to AllHipHop.com. Lil Wayne has issued an apology for the lyrics.
Tyler, the Creator released his latest album, Wolf, last month.