Racist Burger King ad crushed me, says Mary J Blige

London: Mary J Blige today has revealed that she regrets making a Burger King ad that was labelled racist. When the Burger King chain offered the R ‘n’ B star a spot to sing in one of their commercials for a new chicken wrap, the soul singer was initially happy to have the lucrative gig.

“It was sold to us that I would be shot in an iconic way,” a leading daily has quoted her as telling Hot 97’s Angie Martinez during a radio interview. “I did it because I thought it was something that wouldn’t come out like that,” she said. The ‘Be Without You’ singer remained silent while critics slammed her for taking part in a short film that many deemed racist. “I would never just bust out singing about chicken and chicken wings,” she said. The black woman-oriented website Madame Noire labelled the ad “buffoonery,” saying it depicted blacks in a stereotypical way. The Grammy winner said that the whole debacle “hurt my feelings. It crushed me for like two days.” Burger King did not admit to pulling the ad because of the criticism. The fast food giant said it did so because of music licensing issues. Nonetheless, the company has since apologized to the singer. Blige also wanted to apologise if it appeared she knew in advance how the commercial would turn out. “I want to apologize to everyone who was offended who thought I would do something that was so disrespectful to our culture. “I would never do anything like that. I thought I was doing something right,” she said. ANI