Lil Wayne, Emmett Till Controversy: Till Family React After Mountain Dew Drops Weezy For Questionable 'Karate Chop' Lyrics

PepsiCo, the owners of Mountian Dew, have officially terminated their contract with Lil Wayne over the controversy that Weezy stirred up by making an uncouth reference to slain teenager Emmett Till in his verse on the Future song "Karate Chop (Remix)." 

"We do not plan any additional work with Lil Wayne moving forward. His offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand," A Mountain Dew spokesman said to CNN.

Till was an African-American teenager from Chicago who was visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955. He allegedly whistled at a white woman. Several nights later, relatives of the woman dragged the 14 year old Till out of his home, took him to a barn, beat him, gouged one of his eyes out and shot him in the head.

The men disposed of Till's body by tying a cotton gin engine around his neck with barbed wire and tossing him into the Tallahatchie River. When Till's body returned to Chicago, Till's mother had a public funeral service with an open casket so that news outlets and visitors could see the brutal way in which her son was murdered. The murder brought intense scrutiny upon race relations and Mississippi and is often cited as an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement.

Wayne's lyric on "Karate Chop" was "beat the p-sy up like Emmett Till."

The Till family has been pressuring Mountain Dew to end their sponsorship of Lil Wayne if Weezy did not apologize. Though Wayne did release and official apology  the family refused to accept it. It appears that Mountain Dew has complied with the wishes of the Tills. The Tills had this to say Wayne's canning:

"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 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"."

Simeon Wright was an eyewitness to the kidnapping of Emmett Till. He was shocked that the Pepsi-owned Mountain Dew decided to cut ties with one of the biggest rappers out.

"This is beyond my expectations, I'm pleased that it happened and it shouldn't waited for public outcry. Anything that belittles or degrades the memory of Emmett Till shouldn't be in the public square," Wright said. "Racism is still out there. Whatever you listen too, whatever you do, get an education. 'Don't let this system destroy you.'"

This doesn't bode well for Tyler, The Creator, whose most recent Mountain Dew ad is being called out for as being 'racist'.