Al Sharpton used MSNBC airtime this weekend to promote a DEI-related boycott of PepsiCo that he launched through his activist group, National Action Network. It’s the latest instance in which Sharpton has blended his dual roles as MSNBC host and head of the nonprofit—a practice that has landed both Sharpton and the liberal network in hot water.
Sharpton announced plans to boycott the soft drink giant—which rolled back its race-focused hiring practices in February amid pressure from the Trump administration—at the National Action Network’s annual convention, as well as on his weekend MSNBC show PoliticsNation. Sharpton said at the convention, “We want you to either retreat on you saying you are out of DEI or we in 21 days will start marching and boycotting Pepsi-Cola all over this country.” Hours later, on MSNBC’s airwaves, he put Pepsi “on notice.”
“We put on notice those companies like Pepsi Cola that we will withdraw patronage from those that do not live up to what they voluntarily committed in DEI,” Sharpton said Saturday on PoliticsNation.
Sharpton’s use of his MSNBC broadcast to promote the boycott could present a slew of problems for the liberal news outlet, which hopes to spin off later this year from its parent companies Comcast and NBCUniversal.
An MSNBC-sanctioned boycott threat could give fuel to the Trump administration’s investigation of Comcast and NBCUniversal over their DEI programs. FCC chairman Brendan Carr launched the probe in February, accusing the media giant of violating federal discrimination laws and agency regulations. He has pledged to block media mergers and acquisitions involving firms that promote “discriminatory” DEI practices.
Other conflicts could ruffle feathers in the NBCUniversal executive suites. NBCUniversal chairman Cesar Conde serves on the PepsiCo board of directors. He was paid $360,000 in fees and stock incentives last year and has more than $2.2 million in non-voting shares of PepsiCo, according to corporate disclosures. Then there’s Sharpton’s targeting of one of the largest corporate advertisers in the country: PepsiCo spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year advertising brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Doritos, and Cheetos.
Sharpton addressed the boycott on his show Sunday but did not mention PepsiCo by name like he did the day prior. “We are now saying to those corporations they should live up to what they committed [on DEI],” said Sharpton.
It is not entirely clear why Sharpton selected PepsiCo over the many other companies—Walmart, McDonald’s, Meta, Amazon, and others—that have ended DEI initiatives in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election.
Sharpton announced on MSNBC in January that he would target “two or three” companies to potentially boycott for ending DEI policies. His use of the network to tease the boycott came after the network has faced conflict of interest concerns over Sharpton’s interview with Kamala Harris before the November election.
The Harris campaign donated $500,000 to National Action Network in October, shortly before Sharpton interviewed the failed Democratic presidential candidate on his show, the Washington Free Beacon reported. MSNBC said it was “unaware” of the donations. The Society of Professional Journalists, a prominent media ethics group, said the payment created a “black eye” for Sharpton, MSNBC, and the journalism profession. Trump, a longtime MSNBC critic, called Sharpton a “CON MAN” and asserted the payment was “illegal.”
PepsiCo rolled back its DEI programs in late February, when it scrapped quotas for minority executives and suppliers. It’s a familiar target for Sharpton—one that has proved lucrative for him in the past. Sharpton threatened to picket the company in 1998 over its lack of black executives. The boycott never materialized after PepsiCo tapped Sharpton to serve on a racial advisory board, a gig that paid Sharpton $25,000 a year.
In 2005, Sharpton faced scrutiny over his tenure at the company after a longtime associate, La-Van Hawkins, was caught on wiretaps claiming that Sharpton could help him secure lucrative business contracts with PepsiCo through the company’s “minority mandates.” PepsiCo said at the time it would review Sharpton’s position on the advisory board, though he remained on the board for several more years, the New York Post reported.
Hawkins and Sharpton had partnered years earlier on a boycott of Burger King because the fast food giant canceled a business deal with Hawkins. Hawkins later said that Burger King paid him a $31 million settlement and that he had donated “over $1 million” to the National Action Network and an annual fee of $25,000 to Sharpton.
Sharpton, who denied all wrongdoing at the time, addressed his history with PepsiCo during the boycott announcement, though he omitted the details about his paid position. “We were on the board for 13 years,” said Sharpton. “But somewhere they decided to go back against diversity.”
It’s those sorts of arrangements—in which Sharpton threatens boycotts and then ends them after receiving a payout—that have stoked allegations for years that Sharpton uses the threats as a “shakedown” tactic. According to a report in 2008, Sharpton boycott targets like General Motors, Macy’s, and Chrysler ended up either donating to National Action Network or hiring Sharpton to advisory roles in order to fend off boycotts.
In 2015, Byron Allen, one of the most successful black media moguls in the country, alleged in a lawsuit that Sharpton “has a business model and track record of obtaining payments from corporate entities in exchange for his support.” Allen accused MSNBC parent Comcast of paying $3.8 million to Sharpton’s charity in exchange for endorsing “sham diversity agreements.”
Sharpton sought to head off similar accusations on Saturday.
“First thing right-wing is going to do is [say], ‘Oh, this a shakedown,’” said Sharpton. He dismissed that concern, saying that PepsiCo is a longtime National Action Network donor and had paid for a table at this week’s convention.
“I’ll give you your money back if you mad that we’re coming at you,” Sharpton said, seemingly to a PepsiCo representative attending the convention.
PepsiCo, NBCUniversal, and the National Action Network did not respond to requests for comment.
