When released, Pimp Juice was a source of controversy after a number of community groups called for a national boycott of the product for allegedly glorifying and promoting a negative stereotype of African-American lifestyle.

[citation needed] Pimp Juice is still sold online from an Australian site, but consumers outside Australia are asked to send email and inquire about availability.

[3] The first case of Pimp Juice Energy Drink was produced and shipped in August 2003 by Fillmore Street Brewery, a St. Louis, Missouri, company partially owned by Cornell Haynes, Jr., also known as Nelly.

Naji Ali, the director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E., one of the leaders of the boycott, stated that the drink "Contributes to negative and demeaning stereotypes of African-Americans", while others said that the name "degrades women and glorifies a pimp lifestyle".

[9] Nelly defended the product as "Pimp Juice is anything that attracts the opposite sex; it could be money, fame, or straight intellect; it don't matter!