Mountain Dew severs ties with Lil Wayne over controversial lyrics, drops campaign
LIL WAYNE has lost a multimillion dollar endorsement deal with an American beverage giant.
The ‘Lollipop’ rapper — who has epilepsy and suffered another seizure on Tuesday night ( Apr 30) — has been dropped by Mountain Dew over controversial lyrics that he penned about historic Mississippi teenager Emmett Till, who was beaten and murdered in a racist attack in 1955 after he allegedly flirted with a white woman.
The soft drinks brand, which is owned by PepsiCo, confi rmed they have severed ties with the rapper and dropped their joint ‘ DeWezzy’ campaign on Friday ( May 3) because he wrote the line “beat the p***y up like Emmett Till” for the remix of Future’s track ‘ Karate Chop’, which was leaked online in February.
A spokesperson told UsMagazine.com: “We do not plan any additional work with Lil Wayne moving forward. His offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand.”
The 30-year- old Grammy Award winner apologised to the Till family for the lyrics earlier this month.
He said: “My lyrics often reference people, places, and events in my music, as well as the music that I create for or alongside other artists. It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist’s song has deeply offended your family. As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain that your family has had to endure.”
Lil Wayne — who nearly died after his heart rate decreased to ‘30 per cent’ in March — was taken to Cedars- Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, after suffering another single attack this week but assured fans he is fine after being released on Wednesday morning ( May 1). — BANG Showbiz