FOX Issues Statement On Kanye West's Controversial Super Bowl Commercial

FOX revealed that it made nearly $1 billion on advertising for Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast. At $8 million for every 30 seconds of airtime, some of the biggest brands in the world made special commercials for the occasion.

Most of the commercials were well received on Sunday, but one ad has caused controversy after many believe it promoted hate speech and antisemitism.

Rapper Kanye West paid for an ad in which he told viewers to visit his website, where he offered merchandise for sale. This isn't a new concept for West, who has marketed his clothing and shoes in similar ways before.

This time, West's Super Bowl ad followed a string of hateful social media messages during the week. When fans visited West's website on Sunday night, only one item was for sale - a plain white T-shirt with a swastika in the middle.

The ad aired in select FOX markets like Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and FOX CEO Jack Abernethy sent a letter to those affiliates explaining what took place.

“The ad, which was presented as a legitimate online apparel site before and during the airing of the Super Bowl, was switched at some point afterwards, and completely outside of our stations control, respondents to the commercials were redirected toward the marketing of a wholly appalling product,” Abernethy said, according to Variety.

“We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of antisemitism.”

The ad initially sent viewers to a site that offered several different items, and appeared no different from West's previous offerings. At some point on Sunday night, the site was changed to display the offensive shirt.

Shopify responded by taking West's commerce site down by Tuesday morning, ensuring that the shirt would no longer be for sale.