Singer Kelly Clarkson was shocked to find her image is being used in billboard ads for Diarum, a cigarette company based in Indonesia.
The company is a sponsor of her upcoming show in Jakarta. The logo of one of their cigarette brands is all over posters promoting the upcoming show.
Matt Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, blasted Clarkson for appearing in the ads. He fumed: "If Kelly Clarkson goes ahead with the concert, she is by choice being a spokesman for the tobacco industry and helping them to market to children."
Kelly Clarkson responded to the criticism via Twitter. She wrote: "My morning began with finding out that I am all over billboards, TV ads, and other media formats alongside a tobacco company who unbeknownst to me is sponsoring my Jakarta date on my current tour. I was not made aware of this and am in no way an advocate or an ambassador for youth smoking. I’m not even a smoker, nor have I ever been."
She refused to cancel her Jakarta show in protest because she does not want to disappoint her fans.
She added a few more comments about her current situation, saying: "I think the hardest part of situations like this is getting personally attacked for something I was completely unaware of and being used as some kind of political pawn."
Clarkson’s concert promoter said all cigarette references are being removed from promotional materials in the next few days.