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Lil Wayne’s apology for his Emmett Till lyric wasn’t enough to save his endorsement deal with PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew. The company has officially dropped the rapper.

The father of four teamed with the brand for an extensive DeWeezy Ad Campaign, announced last year. The split was said to be “amicable.”

From the Associated Press:

PepsiCo said in a statement late Friday that Wayne’s “offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand.” It declined to provide any further comment.

A publicist for Lil Wayne, Sarah Cunningham, said in a statement that the split was due to “creative differences” and that it was an amicable parting.

“That’s about all I can tell you at this time,” the statement from Wayne’s publicist said.

The controversy erupted after Wayne made the reference to Till on Future’s song “Karate Chop” earlier this year. He refers to beating someone during a sexual act and says he wants to do as much damage as was done to Till.

On Future’s “Karate Chop” remix, Weezy’s disrespectfully compared having s-x with a woman to the beating Till received in 1955. The 14-year-old was visiting family in Mississippi and was attacked for whistling at a White woman. Till’s mother famously refused to have a closed-casket service, letting the world see how her son’s face had been brutally dismembered by the White suspects cleared for the murder.

Earlier in the week Wayne offered an explanation for the rhyme after Till’s family announced a plan to pressure Mountain Dew to fire him. Falling short of completely apologizing, the YMCMB rapper released a statement saying in part that he had “tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy.”

Since he never actually used the word “apology,” “apologize” “sorry,” or anything close, the Till family rejected the statement.

 

Photo: AP