After keeping very quiet during the whole backlash surrounding the infamous Pepsi commercial she starred in earlier this year, Kendall Jenner has finally broken her silence.
If you’ve already watched the 14th season premiere of Keeping Up With the Kardashians (which aired on Monday), you would know what we’re talking about, but for those who didn’t, the Pepsi ad was one of the main talking points for the Jenner-Kardashian clan.
Jenner’s sister, Khloe Kardashian, can be seen explaining to the camera that “Kendall did a commercial and basically caused a huge controversy”.
“It sucks, ‘cause Kendall’s been taking the blame for it all,” she says.
“Kendall tries really hard to be socially conscious and aware of the jobs that she takes and to really think about how things affect other people, so it weighs really heavy on her heart.”
Later on in the episode, Jenner reveals why she chose to do the Pepsi ad, noting that she was honoured to be counted among other celebrities like Beyoncé and Michael Jackson for starring in a commercial for the soft drink brand.
“I trusted everyone. I trusted the teams,” she explains to the camera. “But after I saw the reaction and I read what people had to say about it, I most definitely saw what went wrong.
“I was so stuck, and I really didn’t know what to do, that I completely shut down.”
Jenner is then seen venting her frustration and sadness over the Pepsi ad to sister Kim Kardashian.
“I just feel really, really bad. Like, I feel really bad that anyone was ever offended. I feel really bad that this was taken such a wrong way,” Jenner says.
“I genuinely feel like s***, and I have no idea how I’m gonna bounce back from it.”
The backlash over Jenner’s Pepsi ad was so severe that the brand was forced to pull it less than 24 hours after it was released.
The commercial also drew the attention of the San Francisco Police Department, which investigated it due to similarities with its own uniform and badges and those used by the actors in the ad.
And who could forget the hilarious parody video of Pepsi’s ad by comic Vito Gesualdi?
