On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh stumbled into an odd contradiction regarding a Pepsi Max ad that depicts an African-American woman angrily throwing her can of soda at who is presumably her husband, only to hit a white woman jogger he had given a once-over moments before. Limbaugh first attacked Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's (D-TX) statement that the ad is "demeaning," saying he didn't see “anything racial” in it:
LIMBAUGH: Now, I have to tell you, I looked at the [Pepsi] ad and I did not see colors. Well, I saw colors but I didn't think there's anything racial here. This was not demeaning to anybody. This was just -- you know, I'm a conservative. I don't -- “Oh, look at that white gal get hits by black guy in a Pepsi can. Oh, wow, how did he get away with it?” No, I didn't see it that way, I didn't see this as demeaning to anybody. I thought -- I thought, if I'm Pepsi, why don't I advertise this product by having somebody throw a can of it at somebody; not whether they're black or white.
However, Limbaugh later contradicted himself during the very same show, asserting that “one of the biggest pet peeves black women have in recent decades is black men marrying or pairing up with white women. Just bugs them. Particularly if they happen to be blond.” Limbaugh claimed that Pepsi intentionally exploited this purported “pet peeve” to “score big with one of Pepsi's demographics.”
LIMBAUGH: One of the biggest pet peeves black women have in recent decades is black men marrying or pairing up with white women; just bugs them. Particularly if they happen to be blond. I mean, that's lighting the fuse. It's already a bomb there. But the white woman happens to be blond, black women, they just -- because they're taken off the market. That's another black guy gone from the market place of available men.
So, the Pepsi ad has a white woman getting decked by a can of Pepsi thrown by a black woman. Home run, if you understand the demographics here. So that was an ad that scored big with one of Pepsi's demographics. Now, they can't come out and say this. And they have to weather all of the criticism when it's over, with a smile and with clinched teeth, 'cause they know what they did, from a marketing and advertising perspective, was probably a home run.
As is often the case when Limbaugh attempts to discuss race, he got a bit confused. If Limbaugh saw nothing “racial” in the Pepsi ad, why did he evoke a racial stereotype between “black women” and “white women,” especially “blonds”? Limbaugh's remarks not only demean an entire group of women but also add to his long history of racist and sexist comments.