PepsiCo drops Lil Wayne as face of Mountain Dew
PepsiCo has dropped Lil Wayne as the face of Mountain Dew, following a mention in the rapper’s lyrics about civil rights martyr Emmett Till.
The second scandal Mountain Dew has faced in the past week – the first being an online ad removed after complaints of alleged racist and misogynistic overtones – the lyric in question was "Beat that p***y up like Emmett Till."
Till was attacked and killed in Mississippi in1955, aged 14, for allegedly flirting with a white woman.
PepsiCo said in a statement that Wayne's "offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon" does not reflect the values of the brand, but would not comment more.