Tyler, The Creator says criticism of ‘racist’ advert will not change his art

Odd Future rapper describes criticism as 'mind blowing'

Tyler, The Creator has said that it “blows his mind” that he is being criticised for a TV advert he directed which is being described as racist.

The Odd Future rapper found himself under the media spotlight on Wednesday (May 1) when the advert he directed for Mountain Dew was criticised and described as perpetuating black stereotypes. The 60-second advert, which featured a white woman with a black eye on crutches eying a police line-up of black men, has been described as perpetuating racial stereotypes and belittling violence against women. Watch the advert below.

Developed by the Odd Future leader, the advert depicts a badly beaten woman looking at a police line-up. A goat character included in the line-up starts intimidating the woman, shouting, “Ya better not snitch on a playa” and, “Keep ya mouth shut.” The woman eventually screams: “I can’t do this, no no no!” and runs away. The advert had been criticised specifically for the fact the police line-up consisted of all black men alongside the goat.

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Speaking to Billboard, Tyler claimed that he has no intention of changing following the criticism. “I mean, it’s not gonna change my art in any way. I just hope that somehow, if it gets bigger or if it disappears tomorrow, that it just opens people’s minds up,” he said. Adding: “I just actually can’t believe that somebody sat there and pointed out that it was all black people, instead of being confused that it was a freaking goat talking. That’s mind-blowing. That’s mind-blowing that people still think like that. I’m standing here in the freaking sun, burning up on a freaking conference call when I could be out skating, all because of some black dude’s opinion that other people who can’t think for themselves followed.”

A spokeswoman for Mountain Dew’s parent company, PepsiCo said it immediately pulled the advert after learning people found it offensive. “We apologise for this video and take full responsibility,” the company wrote in an updated statement issued on May 1. “We have removed it from all Mountain Dew channels and Tyler is removing it from his channels as well.”

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