Kanye West reportedly lied to an advertising agency in order to run an antisemitic ad during the Super Bowl — switching out the content on his website after the commercial aired to plug a swastika-emblazoned t-shirt.
The 15-second ad, showing the rapper seated in a dentist’s chair, was originally pitched as one that would show him discussing new dental work before directing viewers to his Yeezy.com site carrying non-offensive merchandise, according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, the site was scrubbed of all items and visitors were greeted with the vile Nazi image shortly after the ad aired at around 9:30 p.m. ET in select markets around the country — including on Fox affiliates in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta as well as on a Nexstar-owned Fox station in St. Louis, Mo.
USIM, the advertising agency responsible for placing the ad, submitted the commercial to television stations the previous Thursday, assuring broadcasters that the content had been reviewed, the Journal reported.
Both Fox and Nexstar executives reportedly checked the Yeezy website at that time and found only generic athletic apparel for sale.
West, who has changed his name to Ye, had unleashed a series of inflammatory posts on X just days before the Super Bowl. He posted statements on X such as “whip your Jews” and “I love Hitler.”.
In response, X banned the rapper after his latest antisemitic outburst.
Shopify, the e-commerce platform hosting the Yeezy website, had drawn heat for allowing the site to remain active following the Super Bowl before shutting down the online store on Tuesday.
The company issued a statement explaining that West’s website had violated its policies and failed to engage in what it termed “authentic commerce practices.”
Attempts to reach Ye for comment went unanswered.
Doug Livingston, the president and COO of USIM, confirmed that the agency had vetted the advertisement before submission and did not encounter any problematic content.
The agency had been hired just weeks earlier by executives associated with Yeezy LLC, but terminated its relationship with the brand on Friday, following West’s offensive social media posts.
Upon realizing the nature of the merchandise being sold on the site, USIM promptly notified television stations on Monday to pull the ad.
Unlike nationally aired Super Bowl commercials, which require approval from Fox and the NFL, regional advertisements follow a different approval process, often handled by individual local stations.
A source familiar with the matter said that, at the time of review, the Yeezy website appeared to be a standard retail platform.
Officials from Fox Sports, which broadcast the Super Bowl, and the NFL stated that they had no prior knowledge of the ad before it aired.
Fox Sports is owned by Fox Corp. — sister company to The Post’s corporate parent News Corp.
The NFL released a statement on Tuesday strongly condemning antisemitism and emphasizing that it had no involvement in approving or broadcasting the advertisement.
With Super Bowl ad slots reaching up to $8 million for 30 seconds of airtime, regional buys offer brands a more cost-effective way to capture attention.
Advertisers sometimes opt for local spots to generate buzz while avoiding the high price tag of national commercials.
For instance, in the Los Angeles market, a local Super Bowl ad slot was estimated to cost around $1 million.
West’s social media outburst last week drew swift condemnation from organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.
Prominent figures, including actor David Schwimmer, called for West to be removed from X.
While his account remained active through the weekend and the ad aired as scheduled, the backlash was immediate.
The Anti-Defamation League sent letters of protest to Fox and Nexstar, urging viewers to voice their complaints about the advertisement.
By Tuesday, West’s X account had been deleted.
This latest controversy is part of a long pattern of antisemitic remarks from West, which has led to the loss of multiple business partnerships, including those with Adidas and Gap.
In 2022, he was suspended from X after posting a swastika, prompting platform owner Elon Musk to cite a violation of the site’s policy against incitement to violence.
Though his account was reinstated in mid-2023, X announced that he would be unable to monetize his content or have ads placed alongside his posts.
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