After the meme deluge that followed the release of Kendall Jenner’s terrible Pepsi ad, it was only a matter of time before a special someone tried to replicate the whole thing IRL.
And this special someone is a man in Portland, Oregon, who after seeing the ad, decided to “join the conversation” by walking up to Mayor Ted Wheeler during a council meeting and handing him a can of Pepsi.
The gesture was an apparent rebuke to the Mayor’s handling of recent protests against a police shooting in the city.
“I’ve just recently moved here and I have to say, I’m very surprised at how there’s so many people who show up to City Council and get angry at you and yell at you,” the man reportedly said. “What I realized is that the language of resistance has not been properly translated to you, so this is for you.”
In the ad, which the soda company has since pulled, the peak of cringeworthiness comes when Jenner breaks ranks from the protest to offer one of the riot cops standing in front of her a can of Pepsi. The cop accepts it willingly as the crowd breaks into cheers.
The Oregonian’s gesture wasn’t received with such enthusiasm, but you can’t blame him for trying!
“Woah, woah, not a good move, not a smart move. Don’t do that again,” Wheeler said as he took the can of fizzy drink, visibly embarrassed, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
After handing Wheeler the can, he was escorted out by officials but not before taking a few sips from the revolutionary drink.
“Please folks, don’t do that for your own safety,” Wheeler said. “If this were the Boston City Council, that would have ended differently.”
The man was later identified himself as a former journalist of the Boston Herald.