The voice of the people is the voice of God, it is said- and Michael B Jordan is listening and paying attention. 

Nearly 72 hours after officially launching his rum, branded ‘J’ouvert’, the American actor took to his Instagram page  late on Tuesday night, announcing that he and his team will scrap the name and return to the drawing board once more. 

The pullback comes after Jordan, known best for his role as Erik Killmonger in the 2018 Black Panther film, faced heavy criticism online, mainly from Trinidad and Tobago citizens who labelled the move “cultural appropriation”.

“I just wanna say on behalf of myself and my partners, our intent was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) and hoped to celebrate and shine a positive light on,” Jordan said in an informal statement posted to his Instagram story. 

“Last few days has been a lot of listening- a lot of learning and engaging in countless community conversations,” he continued. 

“We hear you. I hear you and want to be clear that we are in the process of renaming . We sincerely apologize and look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of,” Jordan revealed. 

Several Trinbagonian cultural activists, including Wendell Manwarren and self proclaimed ‘jouvayist’ Atillah Springer  have spoken out against the brand since it was launched on Sunday, essentially labelling the move a disrespect to the living, spiritual ritual that is J’ouvert in Trinidad and Tobago’s culture. 

The controversy gained even bigger traction when Trinidad born rapper Nicki Minaj decided to share her thoughts on the issue, posting earlier on Tuesday :“I’m sure MBJ didn’t intentionally do anything he thought Caribbean ppl would find offensive— but now that you are aware, change the name & continue to flourish & prosper.”