Well, there's big fun happening at Burger King with Mary J. Blige singing about chicken. Seriously.
Mary J. Blige was featured in an ad about Burger King's new snack wraps until the ad was removed from Youtube. BK claims the ad was pulled for licensing issues and that the ad was incomplete, but the bigger problem may have been the outcries about having a Black woman sing about fried chicken. Mary J reportedly took home $2 million for her appearance in the ad, but that doesn't remove the grease stains from the stereotypical portrayal of a Black woman standing atop a table singing about fried food.
Mary J. Blige sang, "crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing wrapped up in a tasty, flour tortilla," but none of the other celebrities in BK's new campaign got to sing about fried chicken. Instead they got to promote salads, smoothies, and frappes.
Do you think BK gave Mary the short end of the chicken strip?
Read writer Thembisa S. Mshaka's comments about using Mary J. as a stereotypically sassy black female to promote a food that is a leading cause of hypertension and diabetes in Black females.
We agree Thembisa, #Adfail.
Watch the BK ad here.
