Burger King Pulled Mary J. Blige Ad Over Licensing Issues

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By Miranda Johnson

On Tuesday Burger King pulled its new commercial featuring the Queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J Blige. The ad was met with an outpouring of criticism and then it was promptly removed from Burger King's YouTube channel. Despite the coincidental timing there, Burger claims that the ad was pulled because of music licensing issues. 

The commercial debuted earlier this week and showed Blige standing on top of a table belting out the ingredients “crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing, wrapped up in a tasty flour tortilla," to the soundtrack of her single “Don’t Mind." The Ads are part a new promotion to introduce the restaurant’s revamped menu, with this one pertaining to the Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap.

When the video premiered it received harsh criticism from fans, primarily from the black community who criticized it as stereotypical. In spite of the situation, the company said it hopes to have the “ads back on the air soon," though the spokeswoman did not mention if the ads would be the same.

Rumors have surfaced that Blige received $2 million for the ad. Other celebrities also promoting the burger house's new menu include soccer star David Beckham, actress Selma Hayek and late night host Jay Leno.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/04/04/burger-king-pulled-mary-j-blige-ad-licensing-issues/]View the full article[/url]