Madonna thanked Pepsi for airing her cancelled 1989 commercial during the 2023 MTV VMAs on Tuesday night.
During the MTV Video Music Awards, the pop icon’s once-controversial Pepsi advert was finally shown to an audience.
The 30-second ad, which featured Madonna saying, “Go ahead, make a wish,” before dancing on a city street to her then-new single Like a Prayer, caused controversy back in 1989.
“34 years ago I made a commercial with Pepsi to celebrate the release of my song Like a Prayer,” Madonna wrote on X/Twitter on Tuesday night.
The Material Girl hitmaker continued, “The commercial was immediately canceled when I refused to change any scenes in the video where I was kissing a black saint or burning crosses. So began my illustrious career as an artist refusing to compromise my artistic integrity.”
The star concluded the post by thanking Pepsi for “realising” that the advert deserves to be seen.
“Thank you @pepsie for finally realising the genius of our collaboration,” she wrote. “Artists are here to disturb the peace.”
The day after the Pepsi commercial premiered in 1989, Madonna released her Like a Prayer music video, which was widely condemned by religious groups, including the Vatican, and deemed blasphemous.
While the ad was not controversial in itself, it was canned due to its association with the provocative video.
The advert was part of a $5 million (£4 million) deal that Pepsi signed with the pop singer. Despite the advert being cancelled, Madonna still got paid for her work.
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