Twenty years ago, Pink participated in a great cinematic achievement: Pepsi’s three-minute 2004 commercial. The ad starred Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Pink as Roman gladiators who enter the ring to fight each other, but instead sing Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and drink Pepsi in defiance of Emperor Enrique Iglesias. In a Feb. 22 interview with PEOPLE, the “Trustfall” singer reflected on the “bizarre” experience of shooting the ad two decades after filming it in Rome in 2003.
“What a weird deal that was. What the hell? Like, ‘What are we doing?’” she said. “Also, you're Pepsi. You’re flying us to Rome to shoot in a fake coliseum down the street from the real Colosseum. Why are we here? We could have gone to Canada. I don’t understand. That’s Pepsi money. For a while, everything I saw that was really fancy, I was like, ‘That’s Pepsi money.’ It was bizarre.”
Pink added that she bonded with both of her co-stars on set. “Beyoncé is the prettiest person you could ever stand in front of,” she said. “She glows like a goddess. She’s so f*cking talented, she’s a total pro — always has been — and always just the sweetest, gentlest person. So for her to be that sweet, and that gentle, and then that f*cking fierce on stage is insane.”
She also spoke about her love for Spears, who she referenced on her 2001 hit “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” which many interpreted as a diss. However, she only has fondness for the fellow Grammy winner, especially given how they faced intense scrutiny from 2000s tabloid culture. “People think I was picking on Britney on ‘Don't Let Me Get Me,’ but I've always felt like a big sister to her,” she explained. “I’m very protective of her, and she’s the sweetest person in the world.” The two are not currently in touch. “I wish her well,” she said. “I cover her in light all day long.”
Before the 2004 ad, Spears and Beyoncé had already been years-long representatives for Pepsi, with Spears singing the “Joy of Pepsi” jingle in 2001 and Bey performing her debut single “Crazy In Love” for a 2003 commercial. The two joining forces with Pink in tow warranted the red carpet treatment. Pepsi held a premiere for the ad in January 2004 at National Gallery in London’s Trafalgar Square, which was attended by the three stars plus Queen rockers Brian May and Roger Taylor, who gave the trio their blessing.
“To have this premiere is pretty amazing,” Spears told Today on the red carpet. “Filming the ad was awesome, it made me feel empowered and I got to work with these two fantastic gladiator women.” Two decades later, the trio’s legacy lives on.
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