Russell Simmons has joined other celebrities and activists in the fight against Kentucky Fried Chicken, saying he will call for a boycott if the company doesn’t reform.
KFC has been criticized for their “grossly inhumane” slaughter of chickens by numerous celebrities, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Dick Gregory, Pamela Anderson and Paul McCartney. Simmons has upped the ante by filming a commercial “showing some of the very worst abuses chickens undergo” before they are served to customers.
Simmons, who is chairman of Def Jam Records and is a vegan, said he has talked to officials of Yum! Brands (the parent company of KFC) and said he will release the ad and start a boycott if the company does not change its’ ways.
“When a company targets our community, disrespects us as consumers and sells us products ridden with negative energy and laced with toxins, that is our business,” said Simmons.
Yum! Brands vice president Jonathan Blum disputed Simmons’ claim, saying, “We have an independent panel of outside experts who set our high standards. They are the same standards that all our competitors use to insure human treatment around the country.”