Just when you thought the Kardashian/Jenner juggernaut couldn’t bode any worse in representing the vacuity of being white (yes, they’re still white in spite of the Armenian descent thing), along comes Kendall Jenner with her Pepsi commercial peddling Black Lives Matter like a sellable industry in the background.
As Jenner stands idly before a camera doing her usual modeling shtick, she gets distracted by a guy amid a group of protesters. He gives her a “come fuck me” look masked as a “come join us in the revolution” stare. Thinking to herself, “Ooo, I gotta get me some of that dick,” she tosses off her wig, smears her lipstick (maybe for edge factor, who knows?) and heads out to partake of the “festivities.” Yes, that’s what protesting against racial prejudice can be likened to in these scenes of light-hearted walking through the streets of L.A. And then there is her handing a cop a Pepsi as an offer of solidarity that somehow immediately placates him.
The automatic outrage spurred by the commercial prompted Pepsi to reply in a public statement, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout.” Half-hearted apology or not (they’re only sorry they didn’t get away with it), how could anyone in their right, socially conscious and attuned mind truly believe that this narrative would invoke a sense of unity on any level?
Of course, Jenner, out of touch little rich girl that she is, probably thought she might be able to coast on the trait of being “Armenian” for ethnic cachet. But no, turns out she’s very much the stereotype of the white girl who destroys everything she touches. And it ain’t gonna help with encouraging anyone to take the plight of the white girl seriously. Oh my, where’s 1989 Madonna when you need her?
https://youtu.be/dA5Yq1DLSmQ
