The ladies of “The View” want critics to focus on Pepsi, not Kendall Jenner

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Pepsi teamed up with Kendall Jenner to make an ad. The end product featured Jenner joining a protest and giving a Pepsi to an officer in a police line.

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Critics saw the entire ordeal as “tone deaf.”

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ABC’s “The View” co-hosts weighed in on the controversy after playing part of the ad on Wednesday.

The ad left both the co-hosts and the audience temporarily speechless. Joy Behar had to ask for clarification.

Jedediah Bila said that the ad bothered her because it made serious protests “look like a block party.” Bila said that protests for various causes, whether conservative, liberal or nonpartisan, were “minimalized.”

The other co-hosts similarly criticized that the ad downplayed the seriousness of protests.

Sarah Haines said that the ad was fine in the beginning but also said that the added police line visuals made serious movements seem like a party.

“It’s also sort of appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement and using social justice to sell soda pop,” added Sunny Hostin. Haines said that it also went beyond Black Lives Matter protests, as the ad also mirrored anti-Vietnam War protests and other serious moments that “involve pain.”

Behar said that Pepsi was to blame and disagreed with Jenner being the central focus of the controversy. Hostin said that she was “surprised she didn’t know better.”

Goldberg said that she didn’t know if was offensive, as she saw Jenner trying to unify. “She’s trying to do something good, and I’m not pissed at her,” she said. Goldberg also noted that not every serious protest was “dour.” For her, the positive intent was more important.

Behar came back once more, saying that the real controversy was that the commercial was so long. She was Team Coke regardless. Goldberg said she liked water.

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Their comments were mirrored by others:

Here’s the video, in case you missed it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ

What do you think?

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