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The Unsurprising News That Pepsi Is Backing Beenie Man in Uganda

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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.”

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