Osbournes’ Pepsi spot stirs boycott

Angered at Pepsi for placing foul-mouthed Ozzy Osbourne in a TV commercial only months after yanking rapper Ludacris for his vulgar language, rap mogul Russell Simmons says he will announce this weekend plans for a boycott against the soft drinks giant, accusing Pepsi of applying a double standard.

“The boycott is being called in response to Pepsi dropping Ludacris as spokesman and subsequently picking up the Osbournes, who are no less vulgar,” said a spokeswoman for Simmons, the founder of Def Jam Records.

A spokesman for PepsiCo Inc. said the Ludacris controversy was an unfortunate experience.

“It was our mistake, we learned a lot from it and we’ve moved on,” the spokesman said.

The controversy regarding the Ludacris spot dates back to a few months ago when conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly pointed out that the rapper was foul-mouthed, accused Pepsi of being “immoral” and urged a boycott. Pepsi yanked its 30-second television spot.