Mary J Blige says she lost friends over controversial Burger King ad
Mary J. Blige said she is still ‘deeply’ affected by the backlash she received for starring in a polarising Burger King advert in 2012, revealing that the spot caused her to lose friends.
14 years ago, the 'Family Affair' rapper starred in a Burger King commercial designed to promote its chicken snack wraps.
The ad featured Blige, now 55, singing lyrics that critics and social media users alike argued reinforced harmful racial stereotypes.
BK elected to remove the video within days of the criticism, claiming that final approvals had not been completed when the advert originally aired.
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"We would like to apologise to Mary J. and all of her fans for airing an ad that was not final," the fast-food behemoth said in a statement at the time.
"We know how important Mary J. is to her fans, and we are currently in the process of finalising the commercial. We hope to have the final ad on the air soon."
In a new interview on Scott Evans’ Guest House, the Grammy-winning icon reflected on the tumultuous time, claiming the misstep caused her peers to treat her like ‘a disease’.
When asked if she was in a place where she could ‘laugh about the Burger King commercial’, Blige replied in the negative.
“I’m not because I would never laugh at that. Because my true, honest fans did not think that s*** was funny. The whole way that s*** went down was wrong,” she lamented.
The ‘Don’t Matter’ hitmaker continued: “The way they shot it was wrong. It was set up to make exactly what happened in the press happen like that. It’s still not a laughing matter to me because I was deeply, deeply affected.”
She claimed that ‘everybody dropped the ball’ and that the ‘learning curve’ helped show her ‘just how fickle’ the entertainment industry truly can be.
“It showed me who my friends were,” the New York City-native concluded.
“A lot of my so-called friends are not around anymore. I was like a disease to people. Nobody wanted to be affiliated. This is where I learned I go where I'm celebrated at, because they were treating me like I was a disease or something.”
Following the 2012 fallout, Blige released a statement to TMZ that said she’d signed on to be part of a ‘fun and creative campaign that was supposed to feature a dream sequence’.
“Unfortunately, that's not what was happening in that clip**.** I understand my fans being upset by what they saw. But, if you’re a Mary fan, you have to know I would never allow an unfinished spot like the one you saw go out.”
Mary J. Blige’s full interview with Scott Evans’ Guest House podcast is available to listen to here.
FOODbible has contacted Burger King for comment.
Topics: Burger King, Fast Food, US Food, Celebrity
Ella Scott