The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Thursday that they are pulling an advertisement from their buses for a Fox TV program that shows a picture of black actress Octavia Spencer next to the words “Scary Bitch.”
Spokesman Mark Littman told the Los Angeles Times that the MTA will remove the ad for Red Band Society, which premiered last week, from their 190 Metro buses because it “denigrates women.” Littman said that the ad “speaks for itself… That was not acceptable.” The MTA came to this conclusion after the ad had already run for five weeks.
Dozens of protesters on Thursday showed up to a MTA committee meeting to demonstrate against the ad. One protester, Jasmyne Cannick, 36, told the Times that the ad perpetuates negative stereotypes about black women.
“I don’t know if I find it more offensive because I’m black, or more offensive because I’m a woman,” complained Cannick. “I sometimes think our city forgets that there are black people that still live here and call Los Angeles home.”
Fox said that network executives were alerted on Thursday that the ad was stirring controversy and “immediately offered to remove the language.” A spokeswoman apologized that the ad was “offensive to viewers” and said that they respected the MTAs decision.