Jussie Smollett Makes History in Pepsi Commercial

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        Jussie Smollett Makes History in Pepsi Commercial
    The Empire star becomes the first black gay man to be the face of the popular beverage brand.
 Daniel Reynolds
          
          Dec 04, 2015
          
        
Daniel Reynolds
Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.
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Jussie Smollett has a taste for pop -- soda pop, that is.
The Empire star and musician is featured in a new commercial for PepsiCo, which aired Wednesday.
The ad marks the first time an out black man became a spokesperson for the popular carbonated beverage.
In a meta twist, the filming of the commercial, which was directed by Lee Daniels, occurred as a plot point of Empire's season 2. The song used in the ad, "Ready to Go," was created by Smollet's character's parents, Cookie and Lucious Lyon, in the Fox show, but produced by Swizz Beatz in real life.
The commercial debuted in both worlds during Empire's mid-season finale this week. The show will resume in March.
Smollett came out publicly on The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this year.
Watch the ad below.

        
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Jussie Smollett Makes History in Pepsi Commercial

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Jussie Smollett Makes History in Pepsi Commercial

The Empire star becomes the first black gay man to be the face of the popular beverage brand.

FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Latest

Fighting against an illness with no treatment and institutional racism, Black queer communities had to look inward for support.

New Yorkers are doubling down on organizing efforts to combat an anti-LGBTQ federal agenda.

In Minnesota, staying human was treated as a danger—and innocent lives paid the price.

“I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced,” the gay journalist said.

More For You

Most Popular

Guillaume Cizeron and his ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been mired in controversy since the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.

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Authorities have identified the shooter that killed eight people as an 18-year-old local resident.