Burger King apologizes to Mary J. Blige for chicken ad

Mary J. Blige attends The Escape To Total Rewards at Woldenberg Park on March 1, 2012, in New Orleans.

/ Skip Bolen/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment

(CBS/AP) Burger King is apologizing to singer Mary J. Blige and her fans for releasing an ad that some people believed to be stereotypical, and garnered the singer serious fan backlash.

Pictures: Mary J. Blige
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The clip featured Blige soulfully singing about the fast-food chain's new chicken snack wraps. It immediately went viral when it was released Monday, and some in the black community said it was stereotypical. Burger King pulled the ad Tuesday over what the company said was a music-licensing issue. The company explained Wednesday the spot was unfinished.

In a statement, Blige said she understood why fans were upset. She said the ad didn't come across the way it was planned and she would never put out an unfinished spot.

Burger King said the ad was released prematurely and it hopes to have the final ad on the air soon.

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Mary J. Blige

[DAHKearse]

One African-American that's not at all bothered by the Mary J controversy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqNqFUnm9cc&feature=youtu.be

[jwhiteZocalo]

If Burger King had taken a bit more time in the ad development process, perhaps some of this media coverage could have been avoided.

I've called it a "social media miss" on the Zocalo Group blog: http://******/HSvBqr

[nyctreeman]

so let me get this straight...

Mary does a commercial for fried chicken, and this is verboten in the sick politically correct world we live in now? Some in the "black community" said it was stereotypical? so...black people aren't allowed to be seen in commercials for fried chicken? This is beyond nuts.

Is there some kind of rule book the libtards and race hustlers could provide us with?

[Stat-man]

Since when was fried chicken any less American than apple pie? My problem with this story is the angle that the media took to blow the entire story out of proportion. #1 - Ms. Blige was approached to perform and agreed to do so. If she felt that there was a racist connotation to the ad, or if she was offended, she would not have done it. And #2 - Burger King did not take it out of context and insert references to grape soda and watermelon (to make a point, not to perpetuate a stereotype). The media needs to grow up and report stories that are of real interest to the public and stop pressing an agenda that pits Americans against each other. We are Americans and should be working together. We should be above this kind of childish behavior by now. This is shameful!

[oh2bpar2]

Why is it that African-Americans want their culture to be recognized yet when someone does this very thing they cry racism? Does no one have any humor anymore and able to laugh at themselves? Don't take yourself too seriously.

[expatriate2]

Okay, let's start eliminating all the thing that could be called racist. The Redskins have to go name hunting, as well as the Indians and the Braves. White people could be offended by "Yankees", after all all the original Yankees were white. Anyone 49 years old should file suit against San Francisco. Mormons need to go to court against New Orleans and what about that WHITE Castle restaurants, huh? And why can't we just have a history month without making it black?

[bobnjersey]

[Burger King said the ad was released prematurely ]
-------------------------------------
there's nothing worse than a premature ad.

maybe they should include a 'review' process where after the thousands of man hours spent on the concept, the treatment, and the actual execution ... there would be someone in the company that would look at the ad and decide if it's premature or not.

this is what happens when you call yourself the 'king' of something ... then toss the king to the curb.

[bcpats]

Good Grief !! ! ! What isn't "racial" nowadays????

Well- - any derogatory remark said/insinuated/implied against any caucasion is about the only thing - - especially if the target is a Christian.


And who are the ones that whine/cry/claim 'stereotypical'/racist, etc. - - - none other than the black community. They are the ones that perpetrate the racial divide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (and too often with the potus' endorsement)

[ssporleder]

I wish the world would just take a chill pill!

This is barely a blip on the radar, it is a few people who have nothing better to do than get their panties all twisted up.

She and Burger King did NOTHING wrong.

Everyone eats chicken for God's sake.

God forbid anyone eat a hot dog, someone will think it is porn!

[molecular77]

For the life of me I can't figure out why people consider fried chicken to be racist. I mean seriously, what kind of sick bastard doesn't like fried chicken? Oh yeah, PETA. Therefore, the only logical explanation I can think of is that PETA are the most racist people on the planet.

[jgnv]

I don't know if PETA is racist or not, but they sure are weird. They commit the strangest acts, but always claim it's for the animals.

Sorry, but I'm still upset over "Luck" being cancelled because of PETA.