Kanye West’s shocking Super Bowl commercial allegedly made it to the air based on a last minute switch-up.
The advertisement aired during the Sunday, February 9 game, which directed viewers to Yeezy.com where the only item for sale was a T-shirt bearing a swastika.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the commercial only aired in four markets: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta and St. Louis.
In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy explained the ad had been “switched.”
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“We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of antisemitism,” Abernethy wrote.
The ad had been vetted by Fox prior to its airing West’s website had been checked. At the time, according to the WSJ, no images of swastikas were present.
However, it is alleged that West’s team changed the content of the website shortly after the ad premiered.
“As you well know, Fox is a strong supporter of such organizations as the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, the United Jewish Appeal Federation, and others through direct support or on-air promotion of their campaigns and we will continue to work with them in combating antisemitism,” Abernethy’s note continued
The NFL also issued a statement denouncing the commercial after its airing.
“The NFL had no awareness of the ad buy or the spot until after it ran in select local markets,” a league spokesperson said. “The NFL strongly condemns any form of antisemitism.”
Shopify, which hosted Yeezy.com, announced the site had been removed on Tuesday, February 11.
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“This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify,” the company said in a statement.
The Anti-Defamation League also spoke out about the advertisement and the involvement of West, who has stirred major controversy for his blatantly antisemitic social media posts in recent weeks, including one that read, “I love Hitler.”
“As if we needed further proof of Kanye’s antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website – a shirt emblazoned with a swastika,” the ADL’s statement read. “The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy.”
The ADL added, “Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social audience.”
