You Might Want to Rethink

Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad fiasco had exactly the opposite effect you'd think on Wall Street ... while Kendall and the company were under attack, the stock went up, but the mea culpa was a disaster.

Check out the movement Wednesday from opening bell. There was a small dip, but then the stock went in a vertical direction right up until 1:20 PM ET when the ad was yanked. From there it was all downhill.

Now, even more counterintuitive news. You'd think Coke would benefit from the Pepsi scandal, but it actually did worse at the close. Coke closed down .26% and Pepsi closed down .12%.

Civil rights activist Johnetta Elzie is slamming Kendall Jenner for pretending to be something she's not in that Pepsi ad, and mocking the real work of real-life protesters.

'Netta, one of the Black Lives Matter leaders, isn't letting Kendall or the soda co. off the hook for what she calls an insulting marketing ploy. She explained how the results would be way more violent if she tried to hand a Pepsi can to a cop during a rally.

Johnetta also shouts out women who took part in actual protests across the country ... and calls out Pepsi for going radio silent when there was real work to be done in the community.

Kendall Jenner was in a cover-up of sorts after Pepsi yanked her ad ... hiding her face as she walked past a bank of paparazzi in Paris.

Paps got Kendall Wednesday at a Paris airport, where she was predictably tight-lipped about the backlash she and Pepsi got for the tone-deaf ad.

As if the Kendall Jenner ad was not ridiculous enough ... check out some real protests from Ferguson, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Charlotte and other cities where strife between the Black Lives Matter movement and police can't be solved with soda pop.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, Bernice, can only wish Pepsi had stepped in to help her dad resolve issues between cops and civil rights activists back in the day.

Bernice's biting Twitter post is the latest jab at the soda company that made Kendall Jenner a hero as she achieved unity between the Black Lives Matter movement and cops ... with the help of a can of soda.

We've been calling Pepsi all morning ... and they are ducking for cover.

1:15 PM PT -- Pepsi has responded to Bernice's tweet, stating, "We at Pepsi believe in the legacy of Dr. King & meant absolutely no disrespect to him & others who fight for justice."

Kendall Jenner's new Pepsi commercial -- in which she joins a protest or rally of some sort and then hands a cop a can of soda -- is being torn to shreds online.

The commercial's faced immediate backlash since being released on Tuesday, with many labeling it "tone-deaf," a "complete disaster" or much worse. It looks like Kendall solves racial tensions between cops and protester with a can of soda.

The spot is getting dragged partly because people are confused about what it's supposedly depicting, and partly because others simply despise it.

Shia LaBeouf won't be dividing anyone in the U.K. 'cause almost everyone over there agrees ... they're just not that into his new movie.

Shia's indie flick, "Man Down," squeaked out 1 ticket sale at a theater in Burnley, England ... according to comScore. That's a weekend haul of £7 ... or $8.70 for the debut weekend.

We'd say word of mouth might boost week 2 sales, but the movie also scored 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.

On a positive note ... "Man Down" reportedly made $454,490 in its first month of a limited run in U.S. theaters. In the film, Shia plays a war vet suffering from PTSD after his tour in Afghanistan.

Bill Cosby's hanging on to his sense of humor, apparently, as his sexual assault trial gets closer -- 'cause he was laughing it up Monday outside court.

Cosby was chuckling with his lawyers as they left the Montgomery County Courthouse. He was there to iron out details about what the jury will hear when his trial starts for allegedly drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. It's set to begin in early June, and last about 2 weeks.

Mike Epps says he's profoundly sorry for causing a kangaroo distress during his Detroit concert.

Epps told us when he viewed the video it was apparent ... the stunt was a terrible idea. He says it just kind of happened at the end of his show Friday, when the guy who owned the kangaroo brought it onstage.

Epps is clearly upset he's taking big heat online, but insists he loves animals and his history proves it.

He's donating cash to a kangaroo humane foundation.

The kangaroo onstage with Mike Epps was not handled properly at all times, and now a federal agency is reviewing video of the incident ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for the U.S. Dept of Agriculture tells us the agency wants to make sure the kangaroo was not being mishandled during the comedy show where Mike Epps performed Friday night in Detroit. As we told you, many fans in the audience felt the kangaroo was cruelly displayed onstage. It was lifted up multiple times, and at least once Epps grabbed the animal's harness to pose for a photo.

The rep says the Animal Welfare Act requires all handlers to be "in control of the animal at all times."

You can tell from the video ... that just wasn't the case.

Mike is apologizing, saying he "did not mean any harm to the animal it got out of hand and I am sorry!" He says he will be making a donation to a kangaroo preservation group called Viva.

Mike Epps brought a kangaroo onstage that appeared to be in distress ... now many of Epps' fans are pissed, and some are even calling it animal abuse.

Epps performed Friday in Detroit at the Festival of Laughs comedy tour, when a man came out with a kangaroo on a leash. Epps egged on the handler to make the kangaroo partake in the show, and grabbed the leash, holding the animal for a photo.

The handler also carried the 'roo around as it appeared to attempt to run off the stage. Several ticket holders were infuriated, saying ... "They're trash for doing this," and describing the scene as "violence" and "animal abuse."

The handler is Javon Stacks, who went viral last week for walking around Detroit with a kangaroo on a leash. He told MLive.com it's part of a travelling exotic zoo, and claimed to have the proper licenses.

We checked, and it's illegal to own a kangaroo in Detroit, but a rep for city Animal Control tells TMZ ... because the animal appears to be from out of town, it would be up to state and federal authorities to decide if a crime had occurred.

Stacks told us the kangaroo was not harmed in any way Friday night, and the harness he used is not only legal -- but preferable to a collar which could hurt the animal.

After the show, Epps posted a backstage video of himself with a different kangaroo which makes it seem like he anticipated backlash. He captioned the clip, "Yeh look how nice Iam 2 him! Theses guys are license zoo keepers ! #iloveanimals." He later deleted the post.

We reached out to Epps' rep ... so far no word back.

French Montana has a very charitable policy when it comes to kids hawking candy -- give 'em the money first, ask questions later.

We got French leaving Le Jardin in Hollywood Saturday night, where he helped out a teen selling sweets by handing him cash -- looks like a $100 -- and giving him props for working hard.

Watch his face after he gives up the hundo though. French assumed the kid's a high school athlete raising money for his team, but seems to realize he should've confirmed that sooner.

In the end, French seemed convinced he didn't get ripped off ... which is more than we can say for The Game, who called out the kids as candy "hustlers."

Hooker activity is on the rise in Phoenix during Final Four weekend -- but cops tell TMZ Sports they've created a special task force looking to bust anyone trying to pay cash for ass.

"The Dudesons" star Jukka Hilden took a big shot with a new stunt Friday ... and it's painfully entertaining to watch.

Half of the 4-man stunt group from Finland joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday to show off a new feat of insanity -- using a pressurized t-shirt cannon to fire thumb tacks, Lego parts and chunks of cactus into Jukka's chest (and throat).

We'd like to say this beats getting chomped on by an alligator ... but the jury's still out.

Ochocinco Island??? More like 3 Mile Island.

Chad Johnson called out ATL Falcons star Mohamed Sanu in a 1-on-1 coverage drill ... bragging that he could lock up the wide receiver like he was Patrick Peterson.

Problem is ... when they took it to the field, SANU LIT HIM UP LIKE A XMAS TREE!!!

By the way, props to Chad who looked damn good for a retired 39-year-old wide out who just gorged on McDonald's before the workout.

There were other NFL guys out there too, including Melvin Ingram and D.J. Swearinger ... and even they were impressed with the old guy.

SPF is pretty. SPF is good.

Dave Grohl soaked up a little too much sun this week during a canoe excursion in Hawaii.

The silver lining? That necklace suntan outline is gonna be epic!

Here's a Foo Fighters video ... Happy Thursday.