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Demand Pepsi Apologize for Sponsoring Anti-Gay Musician in Uganda
  1. Signatures
    539 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. Public Relations Officer (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Public Relations Officer (Jeff Dahncke)
      • Senior Vice President, PepsiCo Communications (Julie Hamp)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter

UPDATE: Pepsi has released a statement condemning the use of homophobic lyrics and pledging to monitor more closely the way their brand is used in events sponsorship. To view a copy of Pepsi's statement, click here. Thank you to everyone who signed this petition!

Pepsi has long been a supporter of LGBT rights. Which is why it's particularly troubling to find out that they recently sponsored a concert in Uganda by Jamaican artist Beenie Man. Among his more controversial lyrics, Beenie Man's songs advocate executing LGBT people.

Beenie Man has suggested through his music that lesbians should be killed by hanging, and that gay dee-jays should be murdered. At the concert in Uganda, Beenie Man was reported to sing a song that said gay men should have their throats slit.

This is the type of music that Pepsi wants to support? The sponsorship is even more concerning because of current legislative efforts in Uganda, known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, that if passed will institute the death penalty for some LGBT people in the country, and lock many others up in prison. Beenie Man's lyrics feed into the sentiments of that bill, and by default, so does Pepsi's sponsorship.

Demand that Pepsi clarify their position, and apologize for sponsoring a concert where lyrics calling for gay men to have their throats slit are sung proudly from the stage.

Recent Signatures

Pepsi Should Apologize for Sponsoring Anti-Gay Musician in Uganda

Dear Pepsi

Pepsi recently sponsored a concert series in Uganda known as the Chamuka Keys Finale, where a Jamaican artist known as Beenie Man performed. At the concert, reports document that Beenie Man performed a song where he openly called for gay men to have their throats slit. And this is in addition to songs previously released by Beenie Man where he calls for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to be executed, and for lesbians to be hung to death.

Why would Pepsi Co. agree to sponsor a concert with this artist? Given Pepsi's long track record of support for LGBT rights, the move by Pepsi to sponsor a concert where lyrics like this are sung is disappointing.

The sponsorship is all the more troubling given that in Uganda -- where this particular concert took place -- a bill is currently being debated that would institute the death penalty for some members of the Ugandan LGBT population. Those that aren't sentenced to death would be subject to prison terms and severe fines, solely because of their sexual orientation.

By sponsoring a concert in Uganda that features an artist who calls for gay people to be murdered, Pepsi Co. is sending a horrible message.

I would like to see Pepsi Co. issue an apology, or certainly some sort of clarification, about the sponsorship of this concert. The stakes are simply too high in Uganda to foster the type of homophobia that can lead to members of the LGBT population being murdered. No law should advocate for that, let alone a song sung at a Pepsi-sponsored concert.

[Your name]

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