During this year’s MTV VMAs, they aired a banned Madonna 80’s Pepsi commercial, which featured ‘Like a Prayer.’
In case you don’t remember the chaos at the time; Pepsi had asked her to reshoot some of the scenes, notably when she kissed a black Saint and burned some crosses, as Madonna is wont to do.
“34 years ago I made a commercial with Pepsi to celebrate the release of my song Like a Prayer,” Madonna wrote on Instagram. “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.”
After thanking Pepsi for “finally realizing the genius of our collaboration,” Madonna ended her note with a James Baldwin quote: “Artists are here to disturb the peace.”
Madonna for the win.