PepsiCo has made a public apology after it sponsored a concert in Uganda by
‘murder music’ singer Beenie Man who encourages the killing of lesbians and gay men.
At his Ugandan concert on Saturday, December 5, Beenie Man sang the song, ‘Mi Nah Wallah’, which includes a call to cut the throats of gay people.
Uganda is notorious for homophobic violence and is currently considering introducing the death penalty for ‘aggravated" homosexuality and for "serial (gay) offenders’.
Following protests from Change.org, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), OutRage! and others, Pepsi expressed regret over their sponsorship of Beenie Man.
"We are appalled by the performer's lyrics and find them repugnant,” the company said in a statement to Change.org.
“Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer's views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge...Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands."
Peter Tatchell of London LGBT rights group OutRage! has thanked GLAAD and Change.org for their swift and effective lobbying of PepsiCo.
“Their efforts got a positive result. PepisiCo will be more careful in future," he added.
Beenie Man has a long history of inciting the murder of LGBT people.
His hit tune, ‘Bad Man Chi Chi Man’ (Bad Man, Queer Man), instructs listeners to kill gay DJs and boasts that people would gladly go to jail for killing a gay man.
In another song, Damn, he sings, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the queers."
‘Han Up Deh’ includes the lyrics, "Hang lesbians with a long piece of rope."
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