Bernice King Throws Shade At Pepsi Ad With Incredible Tweet

May 2024 · 2 minute read

All of the outrage stemming from a Pepsi ad released yesterday (Apr. 4) featuring Kendall Jenner has paid off, as the company has dropped the ad indefinitely. Nothing has stopped people from getting their two cents in about the tone-deaf commercial, which caused controversy for seemingly suggesting that a white woman yielding a fountain beverage can put an end to the world’s inequality, racism and more.

Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, decided to add her input about the eyebrow-furrowing TV spot, and boy, are we glad that she did.

If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi. pic.twitter.com/FA6JPrY72V

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 5, 2017

“If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi,” she posted as the caption of a picture of her father being pushed away by police during a protest. She cheekily implies that if her father would have shared a soda with the police, that he and the other protestors would be safe from harm.

Interestingly enough, the commercial was released on the same day that Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. in 1968. Since tweeting the picture, Bernice’s tweet has gained more than 68,000 retweets and over 104,000 favorites.

“Pepsi was trying to project a global a message of unity, peace and understanding,” said Pepsi in a statement today (Apr. 5) in regards to pulling the ad indefinitely. “Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologize.”

While Jenner has not commented on the commercial, she did have some positive words for the spot in an earlier interview with Women’s Wear Daily. She said that the commercial, which was supposed to promote “living in the now,” is “something that [she’s] about.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XBnmWcp51ku6bD0micp6yVp8Gitc2mnKesX5eys7rInJxmo5mjtG7A1qKrrZ2iYr2mvNKiZG5oYmd%2Fc3s%3D