Tyler, The Creator
Watkins criticized Mountain Dew for approving what he dubbed to be "the most racist commercial in history", created by Tyler, The Creator. He also slammed the beverage company for paying rapper Lil Wayne a lucrative endorsement deal following his derogatory lyrics about Civil Rights icon Emmett Till. As a result of a call for the ad to be pulled and calls to be made to Clear Channel by the Mamie Till Mobley Foundation as well as a petition created by other activists and spearheaded by Reena Walker, Mountain Dew was forced to pull the series of commercials created by Tyler, the Creator and pull the plug on Lil Wayne's lucrative endorsement deal. Watkins and Tyler, the Creator engaged in an exchange of Twitter messages, in which Watkins stated he had an "altered perspective" after listening to Tyler, the Creator's music. Media outlets ran with Watkins' statement, claiming he had recanted his initial stance. Watkins later clarified the nature of his Tweet in a YouTube video, stating he does not approve of the commercial.