Rapper Kanye West was the source of controversy over the weekend when he used a Super Bowl commercial on Fox to direct viewers to his Yeezy.com website which featured only a single image of a white T-shirt bearing a swastika. This came just days after he publicly declared himself as a Nazi on social media and expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. Now, Fox’s leadership is speaking up.
Fox has faced criticism both for allowing the ad to be aired and failing to acknowledge the incident or apologize after the fact. The Anti-Defamation League released a statement asking Fox Sports to condemn the commercial and the rapper’s hate speech.
“At the Super Bowl, hate took a front-row seat. Kanye West promoted an ad with a link to swastika t-shirts, broadcasting it to millions on live TV. Just days earlier, his dangerous rants on X praised Hitler, self-identified as a Nazi, and spread antisemitic vitriol. In 2022, ADL identified 30 incidents of harassment, assault, and vandalism linked to Kanye’s online outbursts. We refuse to let hate win. Bigotry has consequences. Join ADL in demanding that Fox Sports condemn this ad and never give hate a platform again,” the ADL petition said.
While Fox has yet to pubicly address the commercial, Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy did send an internal memo throughout regarding the incident.
“We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of antisemitism,” Abernethy said via The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr.
Abernethy also explained that the ad was “switched.”
While the ad and the website were vetted by the agency as well as Fox and Nexstar executives, there was nothing preventing Kanye or one of his employees from switching the product sold on the website after the ad ran.
It’s worth noting that the ad only ran in four markets – on Fox-owned stations in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta, and the St. Louis Fox affiliate, which is owned by Nexstar Media Group.
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