WORST CHARITY EVER: Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons this week announced that he's planning a boycott of Pepsi, in retaliation for the company's firing last fall of celebrity pitchman and rap star Ludacris, which itself happened in response to a push by narcissistic talk show host Bill O'Reilly. Simmons, in a Jesse Jackson-like fit of hubris, says he won't drop the campaign until Pepsi reinstates the ads and contributes $5 million to something called "The Ludacris Foundation."
Now God knows I took issue with Ludacris' firing at the time, and I'm squarely on the side of Simmons in pointing out its unfairness and the subtle racism inherent in many conservative critiques of hip hop culture. But his tactics are way, way off. Why is the "Hip Hop Community" (as represented by uber-producer Simmons) going after Pepsi, when such a boycott if successful could only hurt inner-city commerce? Isn't O'Reilly a more worthy target, since he's the one who first made a stink and goaded his legions of Luda-hating white folks into pushing for the boycott in the first place? Would a $5 million check from Pepsi solve any of the problems with which Simmons and Def Jam are concerned? And worst of all, The Ludacris Foundation? How the hell can a charity be taken seriously when it has a name like that?