In the ad, which Mary says was leaked before it was finished, we see the R&B star singing about "crispy chicken and lettuce and a fresh tortilla," in the same soulful voice fans love. The disconnect between Mary, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, and the stereotypical imagery of her standing on top of a Burger King banquet while singing about chicken was much more than many in the Black community could bear. At the time Mary's explanation about the choice came in a statement saying what we saw was not what she signed up for. "I was told that it would be shot in an iconic way and I thought it was a great branding opportunity," she explained to Angie. Then issued an apology along with an explanation of how she felt when the negative responses ballooned like a California brush fire: "I want to apologize to everyone that was offended or thought that I would do something so disrespectful to our culture," she told Angie. "I would never do anything like that purposefully. I thought I was doing something right. So forgive me."
When asked how she felt when she saw the ad, Mary said: "Oh my God, my heart dropped down to my stomach. I got this sweat and I said, real calm, 'This too shall pass.' But it just kept getting worse and worse and worse ... I went online to listen to the remix I did with Fat Joe, and all I can see is 'Burger King' and 'chicken' and 'buffoonery.' It just broke my heart.
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