Kendall’s New Tequila Ad Has People Pissed Off For So Many Reasons

Kendall Jenner is in hot water for her latest 818 Tequila promo video. Fans were already less than thrilled to see Jenner (a white celebrity) launching a tequila brand considering tequila’s deep Mexican roots, and after her first ad spot contained imagery from a Mexican agave field, the criticism has only escalated. Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila ad is all the talk of Twitter, and not in a good way.

Jenner is no stranger to online controversy and her 818 ad isn’t the first commercial she’s caught flak for. In April 2017, Jenner was slammed for partaking in a Pepsi commercial that depicted Jenner lowering tensions between police and civilian crowds protesting by offering the police a can of Pepsi, a visual that was criticized for trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement. Now, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star has found herself in a similar situation. Fans are fuming after catching wind of her 818 tequila ad and are calling it a prime example of cultural appropriation. Just minutes after the ad spot went live, backlash began brewing.

Hundreds of fans took to Twitter to call Jenner out for the offensive ad.

“As a hispanic person this is so offensive,” one person tweeted. “Why would she use her advertisement by showing hispanic people working in the fields as well her wearing braids and stuff this is not even the 1st time she’s done this before omg.”

“Kendall Jenner roamed through fields of agave on horseback to announce the launch of her 818 tequila brand in California with moody visuals shared to Instagram on Monday despite tequila’s deep-rooted Mexican history having no affiliation to the affluent community she grew up,” another person pointed out.

Many Twitter users urged fans not to purchase a bottle of Jenner’s new tequila.

The fact this was Jenner’s second commercial controversy didn’t go over fans’ heads. “Didn't she do this tone deaf sh*t with Pepsi a few years ago?” one person questioned.

Despite the criticism, Jenner has been proudly posting about the tequila line and called the experience of crafting 818 “incredible.”

“What an incredible experience i have had thus far, learning about this beautiful place, it’s [sic] beautiful culture, and the beautiful people!” she captioned a May 18 Instagram post. “@drink818 has launched in California ... we will be rolling out to the rest of the US all summer long, keep a look out!!!”

Jenner has yet to address the criticism about her 818 ad being offensive, and chances are she won’t. While Pepsi offered up a public apology following their 2017 commercial spot, Jenner never directly addressed the controversy.