Mary J. Blige lost a lot from a contentious ad years ago. She apparently hasn’t forgotten about her 2012 Burger King commercial, which drew plenty of backlash. At issue for many was the belief that it perpetuated numerous racial stereotypes.
In the ad, she sings about fresh lettuce, crispy chicken, three cheeses and ranch dressing wrapped in a tasty flour tortilla. She does this to the tune of her 2011 song Don’t Mind. That ad cost her a lot of bad press and, according to her, plenty of friendships.
The singer looks back on the commercial as a mistake
Even 14 years later, Mary still struggles with it. In an interview with Scott Evans, the You Remind Me singer still isn’t in a place where she can laugh about it. “The whole way that s*it went down was wrong,” admitted Mary. Looking back, she says there was a series of errors which made the ad campaign a disaster. The ad went to air prematurely.
After the ad, those close to her apparently began looking at the singer differently. She says that many people in her life started “treating me like I was a disease.” Mary admits that experiencing this taught her a valuable lesson regarding trust.
Mary is far from the first celebrity to get hate for a controversial ad. Actress Sydney Sweeney got plenty of backlash for her American Eagle Jeans ad last summer. There were some who believed it promoted racism. In December, Sydney admits the backlash came as a surprise to her.
For their part, Burger King made an apology for airing the ad for airing it before it had been finalized. The commercial never reached that stage and was eventually pulled.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK THAT THE COMMERCIAL TOOK A TOLL ON MARY J. BLIGE’S REPUTATION?
