Lil Wayne, Emmett Till Controversy Update: PepsiCo To Meet With Till Family, Al Sharpton

PepsiCo, makers of Mountain Dew, have announced plans to meet with the family of Emmett Till and civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton today to discuss the recent controversy over former Dew spokesperson Lil Wayne's insensitive remarks toward Till in his verse on the remix of Future's "Karate Chop." PepsiCo has cut ties with Wayne in light of the controversy and is meeting with the family to address any concerns they may have.

Wayne landed in hot water after he referenced Till, an African-American teenager whose brutal murder helped to spark the Civil Rights Movement, with the line "beat the p-sy up like Emmett Till."

(For the record, Till was beaten, had his eyes gouged, shot in the head and then thrown in a river with a cotton gin engine tied around his neck with barbed wire. He was 14.)

The Till family reacted by calling for PepsiCo, a major sponsor of Wayne, to cut ties with the rapper. After Wayne apologized and the Till family refused to accept it, PepsiCo terminated their relationship with Weezy.

"Back in February, when I first heard the lyrics, I was in utter shock, disappointment and sadness.  Just as Mamie Till Mobley didn't endure the pain of losing Emmett Till alone, many people have stood in solidarity with our family, even if it wasn't the most popular stand to take," the Till family said after learning of Wayne's firing.

"The road less traveled is surely not the easiest but standing for your principles provides the endurance needed to fight for human and civil rights.  This decision was monumental, we commend Mountain Dew for taking action towards better social responsibility, and now I finally feel that we can exhale and focus on our beloved Mamie Till Mobley's charge, "Let's get on with the business of positive thinking and living"."

For his part, Al Sharpton has already spoken on the controversy. He released the following statement last week:

"I have been in conversations over the last several days with leadership at PepsiCo and the family of Emmett Till we intend to meet next week. This has been a "teaching moment for Lil Wayne, corporate America and the family of Emmett Till yet more than a condemnation of any one artist, it is an affirmation of Emmett Till and a call for more sensitivity about what we say and do in our culture. National Action Network does not want it to end with artists losing contracts but rather with a sensitizing of corporate America so we can learn from these experiences and set a tone that will help everybody. It's in that spirit that we go forward to meeting with PepsiCo next week."

The Associated Press claims the meeting will take place at Pepsi's corporate headquarters in Puchase, NY.