How do you manage to offend socially conscious gays twice over? By lending support to an anti-gay singer in a country that’s trying to execute gays.
That’s the position Pepsi finds itself in, sponsoring a Beenie Man concert in Uganda. The reggae star, who sings about wanting to slit homos’ throats, was the main event at a club there last weekend, with Pepsi on board as a sponsor.
Is it all that shocking that a global behemoth like Pepsi found its way into the anti-gay dance hall scene in an anti-gay country? It shouldn’t be. After all, once these brands are outside the confines of the politically correct United States, it’s once again back to business — and all about money. That’s why Unilever, the manufacturer behind Dove and Pond’s, pushes the skin whitening product Fair & Lovely in the Asian market.
UPDATE: PepsiCo spokesman Dave DeCecco tells Queerty it’s all a misunderstanding: “Regarding the Beenie Man performance in Uganda, we just wanted you to know that we are appalled by his lyrics and find them repugnant. We are not associated with him in any way. Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of his views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge. Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands.”
JR
Actually this is a bit of a surprise, noting that PepsiCo has been boycotted by anti-gay groups (AFA) for being financially supportive of “The Homosexual Lifestyle”. This sounds more like a Unilever issue, who has just entered a joint venture with PepsiCo to grow share in the global tea market. It seems Unilever has a big steak in the African market and seems to have strong-armed PepsiCo into supporting agendas in the territories that they represent. As awful as it sounds, PepsiCo is probably more guilty of collusion with a company that is NOT gay friendly than being supportive of hate themselves… But any corporation in my eyes is guilty of playing two ends to the middle, so therefore I am very careful where my gay $ goes. Would be nice if Queerty researched their stories a bit more instead of making headlines out of flippant remarks that are as bitchy and useless as the comments you find in the Morning Goods section!!! That’s not news & its doesn’t make for an interesting story either. Besides, you are only giving free PR to that Mr. Beenie Baby… Who really gives a F*** about him and his music anyhow??? People who like that shit really don’t have the balls to slit a throat, let alone pull themselves out of the muck of ignorance!
terrwill
I can’t decide which country I want Santa to nuke for me
more this Holiday season. Iran home of subhuman islamic
scumbags for executing two Gay teens a few years ago,
and now with three more awaiting the noose.
Or Uganda that filthy cesspool country of savages for
wanting to kill every Gay in the country………..
edgyguy1426
Ouch. Stereotype much?
Attmay
@3 edgyguy1426:
They’re not stereotypes if they’re the fucking truth.
We need to push for war against these hate states. No nation-building this time, just nation destroying. Give the gays a chance to get out safely, and then nuke the rest.
Jurlesia
Anyone have contact info for Pepsi? I’d love to let them know exactly how I feel about this, straight from my mouth…
Christopher Bradshaw
Here’s Pepsi’s contact info: http://cr.pepsi.com/usen/pepsiusen.cfm?date=20091207
I sent them an email asking if this is true.
del
@Attmay of all the comments i’ve ever seen on this site, that’s the dumbest.
romeo
I don’t know, Del, I think Attmay may be on to something. LOL
hyhybt
#8: delete the word “to.”
raha
oh common guys, Uganda isnt a filthy cesspool of savages as you might think. It is a country of loving pple. you guys are only ranting bse u havent read that bill. but for your information it seeks to save the boy child from aggravated rape by homosexuals. gee would you like to hear that your nephew was rapped by a homosexual and then go raising placards and upholding it. such a case is a capital punishment , just like it is for rape and defilement of minors. so U guys are sooo misguided on your claims. you shd check with the Uganda gay community again on whether they got their facts right- but am sure they are getting alot of money from distorting the facts about the bill and guess who is paying to look like fools? its the gay community. for as long as you are out thre claiming for your rights and can’t identify with the basic rights of protection for the children- then i wouldnt want to be called gay and proud. Ugandans have a different culture and no huge ammounts of money will change it overnight… but am sure all the gay activitst in Uganda are doing it to cut a bak. you need to be here to understand the dynamics. of course unless it works for you to build on an outright lie that Uganda wants to murder homosexuals- can’t you just get a legal opinion about it? Am so embarrassed about how things are going, just because of everybody’s ignorance from Rick Warren to Gordon Brown to that Swedish minister!
Plus can’t you guys just bare with a difference in opinion? why does this whole gay thing have to be rammed down everyone’s throats. so who’s next are we going to see guys who do oral sex comming up to ask for their rights- gee!
Landon Bryce
Dear Raha,
Please consider the portion of the Bill which makes it a crime to know that someone is a homosexual and not report that person to the government. I think that makes it impossible for gay people to get adequate health care and information. You say the law seeks to punish people who rape children, but I do not believe that child rape is currently legal there or that it is necessary to demonize good men who love other men. The Catholic Church is a much greater threat regarding the rape of children than openly gay men ever were. Read the news if you doubt me. Unfortunately, this proposed law requires people to engage in the type of secrecy that punishes decent people and rewards criminals.
You call your desire for a law that puts people to death because you find what they do in bed unpleasant a mere difference of opinion. It is that attitude– that people are worthless because they are different– that once allowed people to own others.
raha
Hi Landon. most of the situations of homosexuality in Uganda if u have been following the news are not about mutually consenting adults. It is an adult vs a child and that is what the bill is mainly focussing on. In this case if the government is clear that it isnt pro- homosexuality then it is important that it knows who is.but certainly no one is gona arrest people for being gay- especially in Uganda where the burden of proof is still a problem. the only proof of agravated homosexuality is the one among older guys sodomising children etc and of course the catholic church cab be a threat to youbg boys but not in Africa, where homosexuality is generally shunned. The catholic in Uganda church is against it just like any government should. you know if guys were doing stuff in their beds and not going around recruiting young school children may be the situation would be different.
plus Uganda is a typical African country with a culture different from the West and we need to appreciate that… it won’t happen overnight. The traditional family setting which is very alive and well in Uganda is being threatend by something they see as foreign. plus there church in Uganda is a firm believer in the fact that God doesnt commission homosexuality and that is what is being preached – it is a sin. The church has already told the west to keep their dimes if it is gonna come with the exchange of some of these unrealistic conditions. but seriously what is true giving if it is gonna come with unrealistic demands.
problem is am not sure all those who call themselves gays are actually gay- in Uganda they seem to be just a bunch of angry people that seems to be breathed over by equally angry and temperamental people from the West- now that makes it a huge problem. apart from sayin it…what is the proof that one is gay? But another important thing is that laws are adopted from what is culturally acceptable in a society- and this is what the majority of Ugandans bliv. and if the country were to go on a referendum about the gay qn, the answer would be obvious. why then can’t we respect that, just as it was in Maine or carlifornia? or is it bse Uganda passses off as a developing country that may die because gays are pulling the plug on them. really how genuine are we in this drive for human rights?
That law is not gonna kill any one- its what people have been meant to blv. just think about it.- if the law in Uganda says capital purnishment for rape and defilement for girls below 18 and there is no particular clause for the boys. certainly there is aloop that needs to be fixed for the man who bullys boys into sodomy and leaves them with horrible health problems. are there no capital punishments in the West? Is there any day when the gay community will ever respect other people’s choices?
walt
oh bullshit.
terrwill
No. 12 · raha: Methinks you are obsessing about boy
diddling just a little bit too much………..something
like a big offense is the best defense……..jus’ sayin…
tinkerbell
Yeah, really! This dude must be the Prime Minister/Bishop of Uganda. The old “we string them up for their own good! That will keep them homosexuals from doing harm to themselves and others. If they’re gay, they must be messing with kids” horseshit.
You gotta be kidding me that this Raha actually supports genocide and tries to justify it by rule of law. I wonder which side he took in neighboring Rwanda…Hutus or Tutsis???
hyhybt
So, why again did we lose the “report” button? It doesn’t take months to fix that sort of thing.
killa
eeeeey too much of these steretype comments stop encouraging sodomy and gomorah acts we as jamicans and africans dont support this butty faggot ways go to hell.if promote asshole full of shit (feaces) to be fucked
killa
this is all evil minded fools saying all these bullshit. assholes are for passing shit. not to be fucked by people who claim to be sane.goooooooo to helll gay communities no space for u in jamaica and uganda.pepsi go ahead to promote dancehall with holly, anti gay lyrics
romeo
Thanks for sharing, killa. LMAO
Good luck on your life. If you’re in Jamaica or Uganda, you’re going to need it. No future there.
killa
stop scaring me am straight bomboclat asshole faggot go away
romeo
Killa, you’re a straight what? Oh, and sorry I scared you, but it’s the pitiful truth.
By the way, YOU go away. This is a GAY website. You don’t want your friends knowing you hang out here, do you?
killa
am killa and i kill all gays am proudly jamaican,no butty fucker, am black.and i know the difference between pussy and anus.let me take thru some science,get a pen and paper. anus is for passing feaces,u understand? pussy is for fucking. u get that? so get organised and remember sellasie mi seh. JAMAICA FOR EVA
walt
You are one stupid man. No wonder jamaica is and will always be a third world country. The populace is a bunch of morons.
romeo
Queerty Eds: I’m not much for blocking people on this site, but “killa” needs to be blocked. He is pure, murderous, unadulterated evil. He, and all the ones like him, are the reason the people in those countries are in such misery and despair. And I’m not talking about just the gay people.
killa
this is very good to hear am killa.trying to give u lost brothers the truth and perhaps teach u some science where u shud place your feaces smelling dicks to enjoy sex. remember the anus is not the place its the pussy, LOST BROTHERS.and rememba GOD CREATED ADAM AND EVE but sick people like u changed it to ADAM AND STEVE. u guys should visit a mental specialist for counselling bomboclat asshole fuckers
walt
The bible also says that god made black people into slaves.
And, it’s spelled feces. Stupid man.
killa
hahahahaha thats more useless, i can see your dirty cock sucking mouth saying shit. wait for the fire coming on you and your gay family.you sick, stupid, cock sucking, idiot, feaces fucker.dont come to africa preaching feaces fucking. pepsi promote more anti feaces fucking dancehall GODS like buju banton,shaba,as we continue cutting butty man throat here in jamaica.
hyhybt
And, it’s spelled feces. Stupid man.
I think many countries spell it “faeces,” but still, besides not being able to spell it, Killa also is unnaturally fixated on the topic.
Omar
Why is the West so hypocritical? Why the duplicity and the applying of double standards?
They accept and support homosexuality which they Westerners find normal. They find normal even same sex ‘marriages’. You accept a man or a woman to have as many partners as he or she wants; eighty year old men can keep several mistresses in their mansions as ‘playmates’ – the West doesn’t find any thing wrong with that even if the mistresses are old enough to be the man’s grand-daughters.
But, they come down hard and are very harsh on polygamy. A man who gets married to more than one woman, even if the women are consenting is sent to jail; how can we forget the extreme harshness that was used on the Utah polygamists!
Polygamy is normal in Africa but we have never tried to force it on Europeans or Americans. Homosexuality is alien and repugnant to us, don’t try to force it on us.
raha
ok guy, i will respect your opinions even if i don’t entirely agree with you. of course Killa my brother, i understand your frustration , but it shdnt get into you- no need being abusive and extremely angry- this is where the gays got the strange word ‘homophobia’ bse we end up not focusing on the issues, but start thinking of people as abominations or taboos, that we must get rid of… which isnt a good thing. To be gay is a choice- just like not to be gay is a choice to. the problem only comes when people want to force everyone to think like them against all odds and taking every one at ransom- which i think it is not right. I feel a huge wave of hypocrisy among those raising placards against Uganda. Who are you speaking for? Ugandans or your own agendas, seriously apart from this fact that Ugandans are not up for gays… you don’t have any business with the country but to mock it as a backward and impoverishd country and you think that pressuring govts to withhold aid is the way out. The country is just one guinea pig to let pple know that Africans don’t agree with homosexuality and if we are gona play the democracy card… then the US/ GAYS or who ever must be ashamed about imposing something on others Anyway point if i were to sell sand to Arabs, i wouldnt do it the way this gay thing is being insensitively splashed forcefully to developing countries. Seriously where is the human face?