International company Pepsi Co has said it is dropping Lil Wayne after he made an “offensive” reference to civil rights Martyr Emmett Till in his song.
The song leaked on the internet in February and Till’s family complained and demanded for an apology from Future Record’s company and Epic records.
But the controversy did not stop there. In a letter to Till’s family, Wayne called the reference “inappropriate” but stopped short of an apology.
Till, from Chicago, was beaten and murdered in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman in the village of Money, Mississippi, where he was visiting family.
An all-white jury acquitted two white men of Till’s murder, sparking national outrage.
The trial is credited with mobilizing the civil rights movement and drawing attention to racial injustice and violence in America’s South.
Wayne, 30, had a deal to promote the company’s Mountain Dew soda.
In a statement, the company said the “offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand”.
A publicist for Wayne, Sarah Cunningham, said that the split was due to “creative differences” and that it was an amicable parting.
“That’s about all I can tell you at this time,” she added.
On Wednesday, Pepsi Co pulled a series of online ads for Mountain Dew by rapper Tyler, The Creator, which was criticized for embracing racial stereotypes and trivializing violence towards women.
Earlier this month, rapper Rick Ross also lost his deal with Reebok after he rapped about raping a woman who had been drugged.
Epic Records is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp
