Mary J. Blige Reflects on Backlash from That “Crispy Chicken” Burger King Ad: “I Was Deeply Affected” & “Will Never Laugh at That”

Mary J. Blige is revisiting one of the most controversial moments of her career, and she’s doing so with honesty.

The R&B icon has opened up about the backlash tied to her 2012 Burger King commercial, admitting the fallout left a lasting impact on her. What was intended as a lighthearted campaign quickly turned into a cultural flashpoint, one she now reflects on with a different perspective.

Full story below…

Speaking candidly about the experience on House Guest, the singer didn’t hold back when addressing how the criticism affected her at the time.

“I was deeply affected… I will never laugh at that.”

Continuing, she added:

“The whole way that sh*t went down was wrong the whole way they shot it was wrong they it was set up to make exactly what happened in the press happen like that… it’s still not a laughing matter to me.”

Blige told host Scott Evans:

“My true, honest to true fans did not think that sh*t was funny… the bottom line is my fans were confused was the real true fans not the people that whatever dip in and dip out… but the people who was like ‘What’s going on?'”

I didn’t really know what was going on right, but I had bad representation, bad management, bad everything and everybody dropped the ball, and I’m I’m holding everything that was a learning curve but it’s still not funny.”

The R&B royal concluded with the lesson it taught her:

“It did show me something, one minute people are with you and one minute they are not. It showed me just how fickle the game is, and it showed me exactly who my friends were… I was like a disease to people, and everybody nobody wanted to be affiliated.”

Watch the full clip:

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The commercial, which featured the star singing enthusiastically about crispy chicken items, was met with immediate backlash upon release, with critics calling out its reliance on harmful stereotypes.

The response was swift, leading to the ad being pulled within a day.

However, the impact, per MJB, has been enduring.