Mary J. Blige’s fans were in an uproar when the “Stay Down” singer was seen standing on a table unapologetically singing about Burger King’s new chicken wrap in an ad to the tune of her own “Don’t Mind” song.
The backlash was twofold: The longstanding implications and stereotypes between blacks and fried chicken. The other side was disappointment because fans couldn’t grasp why a singer of Mary’s caliber would agree to sing about chicken—on a table.
A day after Burger King pulled the ad after a bevy of complaints, the Queen of Hip Hop is reassuring fans that what they saw in the short clip was not meant for release because the ad was incomplete and not approved.
“I agreed to be a part of a fun and creative campaign that was supposed to feature a dream sequence. Unfortunately, that’s not what was happening in that clip, so I understand my fans being upset by what they saw,” according to a statement released to the Associated Press.
“But, if you’re a Mary fan, you have to know I would never allow an unfinished spot like the one you saw to go out.”
When Burger King chose to remove the ad there weren’t any mention of an unfinished project, but their statement today now suggests so: “We would like to apologize to Mary J. and all of her fans for airing an ad that was not final…released prematurely before all of the licensing and final approvals were obtained. We know how important Mary J. is to her fans, and we are currently in the process of finalizing the commercial. We hope to have the final ad on the air soon.”
Video: Mary J. Blige pulled Burger King Chicken Ad
http://youtu.be/eHh0bqD78b0
