Jay-Z boycotts Cristal

Cristal, once the champagne of choice for any rapper who was anybody, is dealing with some serious backlash. Last week, hip hop hero and president and CEO of Def Jam, Jay-Z decided to boycott the famous bubbly after an exec at Cristal made some arguably racists comments.

In an interview with the Economist, the managing director of Louis Roederer Cristal, Federic Rouzard said that he regards Cristal’s association with hip hop with "curiosity and serenity." He went on to say, “We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.�

Jay reacted by announcing he would "no longer support any of [Rouzard’s] products through any of his various brands, including the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life." After a week of the boycott, the rapper said via statement, "The response from our customers at 40/40 has been incredible. This weekend, we sold more bottles of Krug and Perrier Jouet than [ever] and we expect that trend to continue. They are great products and we are glad they have embraced us with open arms."

Jay-Z is expected to continue his Cristal boycott on Sunday when he celebrates the 10th anniversary of his album, "Reasonable Doubt.� Jay mentioned the famous beverage in several of the albums tracks: "Can't Knock the Hustle," "Dead Presidents," "Feelin' It" and "Brooklyn's Finest.� The rapper’s spokesman told Page Six, "You can bet that Cristal will not be in Jay's lyrics on Sunday. What will replace it, only he knows at the time, because he rhymes on the fly - so don't be surprised to hear something different."