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Boycott: Pepsi Fired Kanye West as Spokesperson After Bush Comments
Netlore Archive:  Email flier alleges that Pepsi-Cola fired rapper Kanye West as its spokesperson after he publicly declared that 'George Bush doesn't care about black people'

Description:  Email flier
Circulating since:  Sep 2005
Status:  False
Analysis:  See below
 

Email example contributed by G. Hodges, 23 September 2005:

FW: New enemy in town (fwd)

Hello all-

Again, I am not much for fwds, but this definitely caught my attention...Move over Dixie Chicks because Kanye West is about to be the new "enemy of the state."

Kanye West, former spokesperson for Pepsi, has since lost his endorsement deal with the soft drink giant due to his publicized remarks regarding the mishandling of the Katrina evacuees/victims. I mean if you're like me...just SICK and TIRED of being black in America and being mishandled, then do something. Our parents and their parent's SHUT DOWN an entire bus system during the Civil Rights era by CHOOSING to do something. Here is your opportunity.

I'm calling a boycott on ALL Pepsi products. If they want to drop Kanye, how about we DROP them! And as much as I love a good Pepsi and a bag of Fritos, I'm not buying another Pepsi including any of their family products (see link below) until a formal apology is given and a donation is rendered to the Red Cross (or a similar organization) in the sum of the amount of Kanye's contract with Pepsi.

If you're committed to doing something to tell not just Pepsi but the world (including the Associated Press for that racist caption) that there is power in the Black community, then pass this along. Because there's POWER in numbers.

Pepsi Products:

Pepsi/Frito Lay/Gatorade/Tropicana/Quaker

See a list of products by clicking here:

http://www.pepsico.com/company/brands.shtml


Comments:  False. In a statement published on EurWeb.com (Electronic Urban Report) on September 26, 2005, Pepsi-Cola spokesperson Nicole Bradley responded to this rumor as follows:

This note is to inform you that you've received an erroneous email regarding Kanye West and Pepsi. The letter said that Kanye has lost his endorsement deal with Pepsi, which is not true.

Our relationship with Kanye has not changed and our marketing campaign is continuing as planned. In fact, his Pepsi commercial is scheduled to air several times this week. Thanks for giving us the chance to clarify the situation and please feel free to share this note with anyone else who may have received the message.

Kanye West uttered the controversial comment during a televised benefit on behalf of Hurricane Katrina victims on September 2, 2005. In a scripted banter session with comedian Mike Myers, Kanye improvised a short speech criticizing the media's negative portrayal of black victims of the hurricane and the government's slow response to the disaster. He closed by saying, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Video here; transcript here.


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Sources and further reading:

Pepsi Says They Didn't Can Kanye
EURWeb.com, 26 September 2005

Kanye West's Torrent of Criticism
Washington Post (free reg. required), 3 September 2005

Rap Star Attacks Bush at Benefit
BBC News, 3 September 2005

Video Clip: Kanye West Says George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People
About Political Humor


Last updated: 09/27/05


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