A group connected to the Christian conservative American Family Association is targeting a one-year-old corporate partnership featuring music superstar Beyoncé.
In September 2024, Beyoncé teamed with Levi’s to present the “REIIMAGINE” marketing campaign following the release of the Houston-bred singer’s “LEVII’S JEANS” song.
The campaign included three commercials titled “Launderette,” “Pool Hall,” and “Refrigerator,” where Beyoncé is seen wearing various Levi’s denim jeans and jackets.
For the “Launderette” mini-film, a blond-haired Bey takes off her blue jeans in a laundromat, where she takes off her jeans in front of what some critics wrongly assumed were underage girls.
The “Refrigerator” video has Beyoncé rocking blue jean shorts as she struts through a diner. “Pool Hall” centers around the Grammy Award winner playing pool in an all-denim outfit.
Apparently, Beyoncé’s wardrobe choices for the Levi’s advertisements angered members of the American Family Association-created One Million Moms organization.
One Million Moms launched a petition calling on Levi’s to immediately pull the Beyoncé-featured ads from the air, claiming the videos are harmful to children.
“The images and lyrics in these Levi’s commercials are distasteful and send youth the wrong message,” read a statement on the One Million Moms website.
The chosen lyrics were taken from Beyonce’s “Levii’s Jeans” song from her “Cowboy Carter” album, which read, “I love to turn him on Boy I’ll let you be my Levi’s jeans so you can hug that thing all day long! Come here you sexy little thing. [Know] you wish you were my Levi’s jeans/ Love you down to the bone.”
Additionally, One Million Moms called the ads “vulgar” and blasted Levi’s as a company. “Levi’s is irresponsible in their new advertising campaign, especially since they air when families are likely to watch. These inappropriate advertisements are harmful to children,” the statement continued. As of this writing, just 13,924 people have signed the petition.
Social media users had different viewpoints about Beyoncé’s collaboration with Levi’s. Many people expressed that the concerns of the One Million Moms were overblown.
“I watched the video. I’m still waiting for the ‘vulgar’ part. The ‘underwear’ that she stripped down to was a boy-short. People wear shorts like that in the gym. These moms need to find something better to do,” an Instagram commenter posted.
Another said, “They’re fired up over nothing. She’s beautiful, and makes boy shorts look [fire]. Who are these moms, anyway? They need to look up ‘vulgar’ in their dictionary. beyoncé is not that. DTS is vulgar. worry about that, mom,” declared a second person on the image-sharing app. Someone else pointed out, “It’s called One Million Moms, but they only got 13,000 signatures. That tells me everything.”
Similarly, another critic of the petition stated, “One million moms and apparently only 0.013% care about the ‘vulgarity.’” One additional comment read, “One million moms must be bored with their lives.”
While the pearl-clutching, religious moms took issue with Levi’s marketing strategy, the company hyped up the campaign as a celebration of the 172-year-old American apparel brand’s history.
A 1985 Levi’s ad inspired the Beyoncé-fronted “Launderette” commercial. “Pool Hall” reinterprets a Levi’s ad from 1991. “Refrigerator” reimagines a 1988 Levi’s commercial of the same name.
“Levi’s isn’t a legacy brand — it’s a brand with an incredible legacy that has consistently remained at the center of culture,” said Kenny Mitchell, chief marketing officer at Levi Strauss & Co.
Mitchell continued, “Through REIIMAGINE and our partnership with Beyoncé, one of the most influential artists of our time, we’re building on decades of classic Levi’s iconography and celebrating what it means to lead with intent and confidence.”
Previously, Beyoncé faced scrutiny over the Levi’s campaign when viewers falsely assumed the scene of the “Cowboy Carter” album creator removing her jeans happened in front of underage girls.
Two Brooklyn-born sisters, 21-year-old actresses Ka’Mani Sanai’ Brown and Madison Sonae Brown, also known as the Rock Star twins, were actually the extras seen in the Marcell Révi-directed shoot that were mistaken for minors.
