Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
Entertainment

Jerry Rice’s Latest Popeye’s Commercial Isn’t Going Over Too Well with Black Twitter

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNDllDH0w5E

A new Popeye’s fried chicken commercial featuring retired NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice has brought some heat from Black Twitter for its stereotypical depiction of the legendary athlete.

Rice has been featured in an advertisement for the Louisiana-founded fast-food restaurant before, but a new one about Popeye’s Wingovations shows the ex-San Francisco 49er proudly showcasing chicken-focused inventions to enhance his game day and chicken-eating experience.

Set up like a sports newscast, the ad shows Popeye’s fictitious Black chef Annie alongside a white broadcaster named Mike as he lists tools football game watchers can use to enjoy the sport and eat simultaneously. The commercial cuts to Rice using various items, like one called a “taste mask,” a football helmet with a rotating chicken leg attached to the face mask. Others include a “sauce dome,” a baseball helmet with an arc of sauces on the bill, and a “napkin shirt,” which allows the wearer to wipe their hands directly on the clothing.

On Twitter, Black users shared their thoughts, which ranged from disgust and disappointment to genuine concerns about Rice’s financial and/or mental health.

https://twitter.com/DouceOtis/status/821930001335549953

https://twitter.com/YourNewScrooge/status/822121333375008768

This is not the first time Rice has found himself at the center of controversy. When 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his protest of the national anthem in August, the retired athlete proclaimed “all lives matter.” Rice later changed his mind about Kaepernick’s “disrespect” of the flag and supported his manner of raising awareness about Black oppression.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top