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Why Did Networks and NFL Allow Kanye West’s Super Bowl Ad?
Kanye West’s Super Bowl ad, which aired regionally and not in all markets, was a no-frills spot that showed him in a vehicle telling people to go to his website to buy shoes. There was no music. There were no dancers. There was no professional lighting.
In the ad, he claims he spent all the money on the runtime for the ad, so he didn’t have the funds to make a fancier commercial. Is it a clever ad? Yes, it is. Whoever thought of the idea, even if it was him, deserves praise for that.
But I have a question. Would the NFL have allowed Kanye to come on stage with Usher? Would the networks that aired the ad have been okay with that? If not, then why did they take his money and air the ad?
What message does the NFL send by allowing this advertisement? Worse yet, there’s been little pushback, despite the fact that Kanye recently doubled down on his antisemitism and hatred of Jews.
The American people have just seen that you can praise Hitler, and still be featured in a Super Bowl ad.
Perhaps the KKK will have an ad including a no-frills cross-burning, where they ask people to go to their website to buy white robes.
West, who goes by the name of Ye, no doubt wants to headline at major arenas again. Whomever writes headlines at Forbes should be ashamed of themselves for their Feb. 14 article, titled “Kanye West Is Headed For Another No. 1 Album, Even As He Remains Incredibly Controversial.”
Controversial? That word doesn’t even mean something negative.
When you tweet that you will go “Death Con 3” on Jews, and praise Hitler, that’s beyond controversial. When you say you wish your kids could celebrate Hanukkah to learn about “financial engineering,” and Alex Jones is hoping you calm down, that’s beyond controversial. The only thing controversial is Forbes’ decision not to use the word “antisemitic” in the title.
West, one of the most famous artists on the planet, has tremendous influence. He is addicted to attention. But it is clear he doesn’t care if Jews are harmed by his words. What he feels in his heart can’t be known, but it doesn’t matter that much when the results are the same.
Now Kanye can go to venues and say he had an NFL Super Bowl ad. His new album, according to Forbes, will be No.1. The NFL and all those TV networks make billions a year. Do they need Kanye’s money that badly? There are Jewish NFL owners and TV executives. This doesn’t bother them? The fact that you barely hear a peep about this is a signal that the normalization of antisemitism is in full throttle.
West has been called a marketing genius, and, to a great extent, that is accurate. But what was the marketing concept behind his antisemitic rampage that caused him to lose his Adidas campaign, removing him from the list of billionaires? And worse still, how long until that campaign comes back?
I saw Kanye perform at Madison Square Garden about seven or eight years ago, and enjoyed the concert. Some of his songs are great. But that in no way gives him license to spew hatred. There is free speech, and he is allowed to say that he likes Hitler. But the NFL and TV networks don’t have to take his money for ads.
If a star spouted the virulent hatred that Kanye has spread against Jews, to another minority group, would that artist have a Super Bowl ad or be poised to have the No. 1 album?
We all know the answer. Once again, Jew hatred is the only form of hatred that is tolerated.
Next year, if a hate group wants to sell merchandise and have a Super Bowl ad and the group is rejected, they may ask why Kanye was allowed to have one. What will the NFL and TV networks say in response?
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Why Did Networks and NFL Allow Kanye West’s Super Bowl Ad? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.