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Kendall Jenner's protest Pepsi spot prompts online backlash
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In this Feb. 9, 2016 file photo, model Kendall Jenner attends the world premiere of "Zoolander 2" in New York. (Invision/AP/Evan Agostini)
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odel 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 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.
Read also: Kardashian clan member Kendall Jenner says, 'I'm a big kid'
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 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.
