Model and Kardashian clan member Kendall Jenner’s turn as a Pepsi-wielding protester has some on social media decrying the imagery as appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Live for Now Moments video released on Tuesday has Jenner in a platinum wig on a photo shoot when protesters amble by.
She rips off her wig, smears away her lipstick and joins them, eventually handing an officer on the demonstration line a can of Pepsi. He gulps some down, and then grins as Jenner dances off with her new friends.
Reaction on social media ranged from some saying the imagery was tone deaf, to it evoking a widely circulated photo of Black Lives Matter protester Leshia Evans last year in Louisiana. Evans was detained when she approached police at a demonstration in Baton Rouge.
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Pepsi defended the ad.
“This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that’s an important message to convey,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Jenner says she loves being outdoors.
When she isn’t strutting down a runway in wings, cheesing as Marilyn Monroe on video or flea market shopping with Paris Jackson, you might look for her outside.
Whether it’s next to a pool or on a motorbike, enjoying the great outdoors is one of those things the 21-year-old does just for herself.
“I’m born and raised in LA. Even as a kid I was always outside with my little sister. We were in the mud being stupid,” the Kardashian clan member said with a laugh in a recent telephone interview from her hometown.
Since, with her on-fire modelling career taking her all over the world, she’s had to grab Kendall time when she can.
“I’ve had those moments where you kind of need to just take care of yourself and say no to a certain thing,” Jenner said. “I think that’s key.”
Also key when life gets too hectic: stepping away from her phone, even deleting the apps for Instagram or Twitter — for a time.
“I love setting my phone down and really trying to enjoy something that’s right in front of me,” she said.
Asked if she misses those childhood times with sis Kylie: “Of course I do. I’m a big kid. I still love being outside and, like, in the dirt.”
Is stepping back and saying “no” when she feels life spinning too fast something that comes easy?
“I’ve never been a yes person,” Jenner said. “If I don’t want to do something I probably am not going to do it.”