PETA has accused the NFL of pressuring Fox Sports into not airing its Super Bowl commercial.
The animal rights organization made the accusation Friday on Twitter.
THIS is the PETA #SuperBowl ad the @NFL apparently didn’t want you to see and pressured @FOXSports to snub.
It envisions a world where respect is the right of every being and pays homage to Kaepernick and movements rejecting injustice. https://t.co/kD1osnKhuX #EndSpeciesism pic.twitter.com/clXzU79aZV
— PETA (@peta) January 31, 2020
The commercial features animals kneeling while the national anthem plays in the background. Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick garnered controversy when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest police burtality.
“PETA worked with a talented group of advertisers and artists who came up with the idea for our beautiful ad,” PETA shared on its website. “Positively acknowledged by Kaepernick himself, this project pays homage to all movements that remind us to open our hearts and minds and reject all forms of injustice, including sexism, ableism, racism, ageism, homophobia and speciesism.”
“The NFL may be unconcerned with inequality, but we at PETA are activists who will continue to work to dismantle all forms of oppression,” the statement continued. (RELATED: Justin Bieber Responds To PETA Attack: ‘Go Focus On Real Problems’)
PETA claimed a Fox representative confirmed they were reviewing the Super Bowl ad on Jan. 30 and were told the commercial was still under review on Jan. 3, TMZ reported. PETA now says they haven’t heard anything from Fox since then.
WATCH:
The ad agency reportedly told PETA that Fox was being pressured by the NFL to not air the commercial which features kneeling similar to Kaepernick’s national anthem protests.
Meanwhile, a 10-second ad spot for the super bowl is allegedly selling for upwards of $10 million this year, the outlet reported.