KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE
Voices
A
LAURIE
DAVID
HUFFINGTON
01.20.13
Why
Beyoncé
Shouldn’t Be
Singing
for Obama
RE WE REALLY going to help the children of our
nation lead healthy lives, or not? If we are, we’ll
have to stop pretending it’s a good idea to give the
new face of Pepsi, aka Beyoncé, the honor of singing our national anthem at President Obama’s
second inauguration. It’s not. What’s right is right
and what’s wrong is wrong. ¶ Let’s take a step
back and give this gorgeous, talented megastar
the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she doesn’t realize the extent of the obesity epidemic: that one
in three kids in America are overweight or obese.
But surely she has an inner circle of managers,
agents, attorneys, PR people, stylists, make-up
artists, and others who might have clued her in to
the irony of pimping soda at a time of worldwide
concern? ¶ The White House knows. Michelle
Obama has been one of the leading voices on this
crisis. In fact, she enlisted her friend Beyoncé to
Laurie David is an
environmentalist,
and author of The
Family Dinner:
Great Ways to
Connect with
Your Kids, One
Meal at a Time