Pepsi pulls ad starring Kendall Jenner amid outcry

Pepsi announced Wednesday that it will no longer be running its newest commercial starring model Kendall Jenner.

The "Live for Now Moments" video released Tuesday had Jenner in a platinum wig on a photo shoot when protesters ambled by. She ripped off her wig, smeared away her lipstick and joined them, eventually handing an officer on the demonstration line a can of Pepsi.

"Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding," the company said Wednesday in a news release. "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize."

It said it was "removing the content and halting any further rollout."

The backlash on social media was fierce with critics decrying the imagery as appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement and tone deaf.

It also, critics said, evoked a widely circulated photo of Black Lives Matter protester Leshia Evans last year in Louisiana.

Pepsi initially defended the ad saying it "reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony."

With the Associated Press