BBC NEWSAmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific
BBCiNEWS  SPORT  WEATHER  WORLD SERVICE  A-Z INDEX    

BBC News World Edition
 You are in: Entertainment 
News Front Page
Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Middle East
South Asia
UK
Business
Entertainment
Science/Nature
Technology
Health
-------------
Talking Point
-------------
Country Profiles
In Depth
-------------
Programmes
-------------
BBC Sport
News image
BBC Weather
News image
SERVICES
-------------
EDITIONS
Friday, 14 February, 2003, 10:09 GMT
Rap mogul resolves Pepsi row
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
The Osbournes replaced Ludacris in the campaign
Rap mogul Russell Simmons has called off his threat of a boycott against Pepsi over one of the company's TV adverts.

Simmons, the head of influential rap label Def Jam, reached a settlement with the soft drink company he had accused of prejudice for pulling an advert with black rapper Ludacris.

Simmons said the campaign had been pulled for offensive language and replaced by Ozzy Osbourne's family, notorious for their swearing in reality show The Osbournes.

Russell Simmons
Rap mogul Russell Simmons is a powerful figure

The agreement calls for Pepsi to donate at least �1m a year over three years to charities chosen by Pepsi, the Ludacris Foundation and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, co-founded by Simmons.

But Pepsi met Simmons on only some of his conditions.

He had called for Pepsi to pay �5m in charitable contributions, issue a public apology to Ludacris and the hip-hop community and reinstate the rapper in the ad campaign.

Pepsi has said reinstating the ad was not part of the deal.

Ludacris
Ludacris is a huge star in the US

The row began when Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, known for his outspoken views, criticised Pepsi for featuring Ludacris.

Pepsi then pulled the 30-second spot, saying it had received complaints about Ludacris's lyrics.

Atlanta-based Ludacris, one of the biggest names in hip-hop's Dirty South movement, has earned a reputation for his explicit lyrics.

Ludacris appears on Def Jam, the record label Simmons co-founded.

A Pepsi spokesman said the company had regretted the Ludacris controversy.

"It was our mistake, we learned a lot from it and we've moved on," the spokesman said.

"We respect Russell's interest in bringing hip-hop talent to a larger audience and we have worked together to do just that," he added.

See also:

06 Feb 03 | Entertainment
23 Jul 02 | Entertainment
04 Dec 02 | Entertainment
24 Jan 03 | Entertainment
10 Oct 02 | Entertainment
07 Jan 03 | UK
Internet links:


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Links to more Entertainment stories are at the foot of the page.


 E-mail this story to a friend

Links to more Entertainment stories

© BBC^^ Back to top

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East |
South Asia | UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature |
Technology | Health | Talking Point | Country Profiles | In Depth |
Programmes