Kendall Jenner Is Staying Out Of The Spotlight After That Pepsi Commercial
Kendall Jenner has decided to lay low following the backlash from her tone-deaf Pepsi 'Moments' advertisement.
In case you've been living under a rock, Kendall starred in a Pepsi commercial that featured a protest, at the end of which she handed soda to a police officer and created world peace. The instant outrage online saw the ad pulled after just one day, with the brand and model being accused of trivialising the harsh reality of movements such as Black Lives Matter.
The ad gained such negative attention that even Martin Luther King Jr's daughter, Bernice King, slammed it on Twitter, writing: "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi."
Yeah, things got intense. So the ad was pulled and 'sources' close to the star quickly began to defend her. Most recently, a friend spoke with People about how she's coping post-controversy.
“Kendall is still not happy about the controversy,” the source said. “She plans on laying low until things calm down. She still talks about it a lot and has support from her family. She is spending a quiet weekend with her family.”
“Kendall loves modeling,” the source said. “She just wants to do a good job. She has no desire to be a part of something controversial. She is very aware of the backlash and [is] not happy. They are coming up with a plan on how to deal with it. She has been talking to [her mother Kris Jenner] about it.”
The source continued, “She has been very upset. She feels terrible. She loves being a model. To get a Pepsi gig was a big deal. She was very excited. She never expected it to receive such backlash. She hopes people understand that she wasn’t involved in the creative process.”
Thing is though, Kendall was involved. While it is truly horrible and unacceptable to attack an individual in this situation, it's problematic to claim she wasn't involved or didn't approve. Prior to the airing, Kendall actually claimed to be on board with the "whole concept."
“There were a lot of really cool people on set that I got to meet," she told Women's Wear Daily. "It was fun. It was entertaining. The whole concept is really something that I’m about, so it was just fun to be a part of.
“I think a lot of people are caught up in whatever’s happening in someone else’s life and they’re not really paying attention to what’s happening right in front of them most of the time,” she continued. “It’s not hard to put your phone down and consciously try and get yourself to live in the moment. That’s what I try and do.”
