Mary J. Blige "crushed" by Burger King backlash
Mary J. Blige has revealed that the backlash to her Burger King commerical "crushed" her and apologized to anyone that thought the spot was racist.
In an interview with radio host Angie Martinez (via Rap-Up), the R&B star said she signed on to the campaign thinking it would be good for her brand but was aghast when a version of the ad that she hadn't approved wound up online.
"I felt there was no need for me to say anything because everyone was running with it and crucifying me," she explained. "So I just pulled back and I watched everyone and everything. It’s just something that I thought would have been great for my brand."
After watching it, Blige said she immediately "wanted to crawl under the bed."
"It was a mistake, but I did it because I thought it was something that wouldn’t come out like that. It was sold to us that I would be shot in an iconic way," she added. "I was looking for someone to have mercy, but no one had mercy. It was a learning experience. It hurt my feelings. It crushed me for like two days."
In the spot, a customer orders the fast food chain's Snack Wraps at which point the cashier cues a nearby Mary J. Blige who launches into a jingle about its ingredients. When it hit the net, it was widely panned and some pundits complained that a black woman singing about "crispy chicken" was racist. Burger King quickly pulled the spot.
"I want to apologize to everyone that was offended or thought that I would do something so disrespectful to our culture. I would never do anything like that purposely," she said. "I thought I was doing something right, so forgive me."
More Music News:
Kevin Ritchie
Comments