Speaking to Hot 97’s Angie Martinez, Mary J. Blige admitted that working with Burger King on an advertisement for fried chicken was a mistake.
« I wanted to crawl under the bed, » Blige said (via Billboard). « It was a mistake, but I did it because I thought it was something that wouldn’t come out like that. It was sold to us that I would be shot in an iconic way … It hurt my feelings. It crushed me for like two days. »
Blige is fresh off an appearance in « Rock of Ages, » in which she plays the role of a stripclub manager. She was on Martinez’ show to introduce her new artist, « Starshell. »
After the ad debuted on TV, criticism came quickly and harshly. Some called the spot, which features Blige crooning about chicken snack wraps, « buffoonery » and racist.
The fast food giant then pulled the ad but said it was not doing so in response to criticism. Eventually, Burger King publicly apologized to Blige.
« I want to apologize to everyone who was offended who thought I would do something that was so disrespectful to our culture, » Blige said on Hot 97. « I would never do anything like that. I thought I was doing something right. »
Blige’s interview with Angie Martinez is available above. They also discussing being at W.i.P. nightclub when the Chris Brown-Drake brawl broke out.
