Mary J. Blige: Burger King Ad Was ‘Unfinished’
Published at | Updated at
Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images For (Belvedere) RED(NEW YORK) — Mary J. Blige says her Burger King commercial, which was pulled this week from the fast-food restaurant’s YouTube page amid much criticism from the Internet crowd, was incomplete.
In a statement obtained by Advertising Age, Blige says, “I agreed to be a 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, so 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 to go out.”
Burger King previously said the ad, which featured Blige singing about its chicken snack wraps, was yanked due to a “music-licensing issue.” Burger King has since expanded on its explanation, telling Advertising Age that it is in the “process of re-editing the spot” to include the dream sequence.
Burger King blames a “lapse in communication” that caused the ad to air on “very limited rotation on local TV” before it was pulled.
The commercial faced criticism from some who felt it perpetuated stereotypes about African-Americans.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio