Stephen Colbert in his latest monologue, focuses on Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi fiasco, which was pulled by the company after a mere 24 hours. The Late Show, which airs on Star World Premiere HD in India, had its host hilariously go through scene-by-scene, pointing out each absurdity.
“Today, it seems like everyone has come together to join the protest against the new protest ad from Pepsi,” Colbert quipped. For three straight minutes, he ripped the ad apart with merciless sarcasm
“It starts with a throng of beautiful multi-ethnic people, protesting in the streets of, I’m going to guess Newport, Rhode Island,” Colbert said, setting the scene. “So far, we don’t know what has caused all of America’s hot extras to take to the streets, but I’m guessing it’s a protest for Attractive Lives Matter. . . The signs say things like ‘peace,’ and the peace symbol, and ‘Join the conversation.’ ‘Join the conversation’? That’s the most corporate message of all time. They might as well be holding signs that say, ‘We are all the core demographic.’ “
Pepsi was forced to pull the ad after a firestorm of backlash, which called out the company for taking advantage of a protest movement to sell soda. “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue,” the company said in a statement. Jenner, for her part, has deleted social-media postings of herself in the ad, but has otherwise kept mum so far—although she is reportedly “devastated” by the controversy, much of which centered on her position in the ad: a rich and famous white woman who comes in, enjoys the protest, and saves the day by handing a cop a can of Pepsi.
“At first, this was a movement without a leader,” Colbert said, continuing his summary Wednesdaynight. “Until the protest route just happened to pass by Kendall Jenner, doing a fashion shoot for, apparently, aluminum siding. Then she makes eye contact with a cute boy who brought his cello to a protest. This prompts her to rip off her blond wig, give it to her assistant, and ‘join the conversation.’ Can we get a close-up of the assistant she gives the wig to? Oh.”
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on Star World Premiere HD in India.