Al Sharpton Puts Pepsi 'On Notice' for Dumping DEI Initiative, and Hoo Boy Do I Have Thoughts

In this episode of "Welp, Look Who Crawled Out of the Woodwork?"...

OK, Reverend Al Sharpton didn't technically just crawl out of the woodwork; he's apparently a host on MSNBC, a failing network that nobody watches, so...

On Saturday, Sharpton — dare I say the bloviating race-hustler — called for a boycott of PepsiCo over its recent decision to scale back on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives, while ranting about the work (politics of division, race-hustling, shaking down corporations, et al.) of his divisive organization, National Action Network.

And on Friday, as reported by the AP, Sharpton wrote to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta, expressing his “profound disappointment” that the company would end DEI commitments that both helped "build its brand and fostered trust with millions of its customers."

Sharpton apparently tried to shame Pepsi in the letter:

You have walked away from equity. [These are] clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle.

Memo to Reverend Al:

Perhaps PepsiCo has built its brand over generations and fostered trust among many more millions of customers than those you had in mind. You know, those among whom you continue to sow your seeds of division.

Oh, and there's just one problem.

Other than Costco, which stubbornly continues to double down on its commitment to DEI, major corporations across America began to discontinue their DEI initiatives after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Major Corporations Pull Funding From World's Largest Pride Event As DEI Fallout Continues

Couple of points:

There are more dominoes to fall. Moreover, corporations like AB InBev (Bud Light), Coca-Cola (Diet Coke), Target Corp., and others have already succumbed to massive financial pressure and widespread customer anger over their embrace of DEI, making Sharpton's threat pale in comparison.

Ever the marketer, Sharpton posted the following on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday:

This weekend at the National Action Network Saturday Action Rally, I gave PepsiCo 21 days. Not to think about it, to reverse course on walking away from DEI.
We helped to build their brand. We won’t fund our own exclusion.
If they don’t respond, we begin the boycott. We will not be silent while our dollars are used against our dignity.
And on August 28th, we’re taking it to Wall Street. From the African Burial Ground in the financial district, we will show them what economic power looks like.We’re not asking. We’re organizing.
We’re not your consumers. We are your conscience.

Correction: "We're not your consumers. We are your blackmailers."

This weekend at the National Action Network Saturday Action Rally, I gave PepsiCo 21 days. Not to think about it, to reverse course on walking away from DEI.

We helped to build their brand. We won’t fund our own exclusion.

If they don’t respond, we begin the boycott. We will… pic.twitter.com/KRnO6RKzDA
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) April 7, 2025

Incidentally, did I mention that Sharpton and NAN faced scrutiny following the 2024 presidential election when it was discovered that Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign paid $500,000 to the organization ahead of a friendly Oct. 20 interview with the Democrat nominee just weeks before the vote? Yeah.

MSNBC said at the time it was "unaware" of the donation made to Sharpton's divisive, race-centric organization. Uh-huh, sure it was.

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