Madonna gets uncanceled by Pepsi after 34 years proving she really is the Queen of pop

Madonna always comes out on top.

34 years after the the music icon’s Pepsi commercial was pulled off the air over backlash to her iconic “Like a Prayer” video, the Queen of Pop celebrated her “artistic integrity” for never catering to the pressure to alter the clip’s imagery.

On Tuesday night during the 2023 MTV VMAs, Pepsi re-aired the ad in honor of the cola brand’s 125th anniversary. It was the first time the soda giant broadcasted the commercial since initially yanking it in 1989.

Check out the original commercial in all its “scandalous” glory:

A vindicated Madonna quickly reveled in the moment by posting a long overdue celebratory message on social media.

“34 years ago I made a commercial with Pepsi to celebrate the release of my song Like a Prayer. The commercial was immediately canceled when I refused to change any scenes in the video where I was kissing a black saint or burning crosses,” the 65-year-old legend wrote on Instagram. “So began my illustrious career as an artist refusing to compromise my artistic integrity.”

She added: “Thank you @pepsi for finally realizing the genius of our collaboration. Artists are here to disturb the peace.”

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Initially premiering on February 22, 1989 during the 31st annual Grammy Awards, the commercial itself was devoid of any controversy as it featured a wholesome Madonna revisiting her childhood and watching home movies, as her brand new single “Like a Prayer” provided the soundtrack.

The following day, however, all hell broke loose after Madonna released the official music video for “Like a Prayer.”

Directed by Mary Lambert, the clip featured Madonna in a low-cut slip and included a slew of Catholic imagery, burning crosses, actor Leon Robinson as a Black man wrongfully accused of sexual assault, police brutality, and an interracial kiss. While tame by today’s standards, the Moral Majority quickly went into action.

Within hours, the Vatican and other church groups protested the video and called for boycotts of Pepsi and its subsidiaries.

Although MTV continued to air the music video in heavy rotation, Pepsi eventually caved to the conservative backlash and scrapped the entire beverage campaign. Dylan Mulvaney, say what?!

Later that year, “Like a Prayer” was nominated for Video of the Year and Viewer’s Choice at the 1989 MTV VMAs, taking home the latter.

During her acceptance speech, Madonna proved she was unfazed by all the brouhaha and said: “I would really like to thank Pepsi for causing so much controversy.”

Yet another reason to bow down and stan Her Madgesty!

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