Music and media mogul Diddy has joined a prominent list of Black-owned media members calling out General Motors for the blatantly low advertising percentages given to them in comparison to their White counterparts.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, 51, accuses General Motors of not supporting the TV station Diddy owns, Revolt, nearly as much as the automaker bragged to consumers. Diddy also accused GM of “exploiting Black culture” by collecting billions from Black consumers who buy their cars but failing to reciprocate by refusing to advertise adequately with Black-owned media.
“Corporations like General Motors have exploited our culture, undermined our power, and excluded Black entrepreneurs from participating in the value created by Black consumers,” Diddy penned in the scathing letter posted to Revolt TV’s website. “In 2019, brands spent $239 billion on advertising. Less than 1% of that was invested in Black-owned media companies.”
Diddy also added that “out of the roughly $3 billion General Motors spent on advertising, we estimate only $10 million was invested in Black-owned media. Only $10 million out of $3 billion! Like the rest of corporate America, General Motors is telling us to sit down, shut up and be happy with what we get.”
Diddy’s scorching letter follows the full-page ad taken out in the Detroit Free Press on March 28, 2021, where Black media owners such as Ice Cube, Roland Martin and Byron Allen called GM’s CEO Mary Barra “racist.” In that blistering ad, the 10 Black media members said Barra consistently refused to meet with Black media members regarding the need to dramatically increase advertising.
Diddy echoed their sentiments. Flip the page to view what else Diddy had to say about GM.
