A controversial Super Bowl advertisement featuring Scarlett Johansson endorsing the Israeli company SodaStream has been banned by Fox, reports say. However, the actress issued a statement Friday saying she is standing by her commercial despite the criticism.
SodaStream has been criticized by groups like Oxfam for running a large factory in the West Bank, a long disputed territory between Israel and Palestine that has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
"Oxfam believes that businesses that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support," Oxfam said in a statement on its website.
"Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law."
The ad shows Johansson promoting SodaStream's soda-making product, a device that turns regular water into soda. Johansson, who has been an Oxfam ambassador since 2005, said she "never intended" to make a political statement with the commercial.
"I believe in conscious consumerism and transparency and I trust that the consumer will make their own educated choice that is right for them. I stand behind the SodaStream product and am proud of the work that I have accomplished at Oxfam as an Ambassador for over 8 years," the actress said in her statement exclusively obtained by the Huffington Post.
Johansson went on to say that SodaStream is a supporter of peace in the West Bank.
"Soda stream in a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay and equal rights."
The ad was banned by Fox because one of the lines in the commercial made a reference to Coca-Cola and Pepsi, SodaStream's competitors. A SodaStream commercial was also banned by CBS last year because it claimed to be greener than Coke and Pepsi, CNN reported.
Fox requested that SodaStream remove the line in question "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi."
As of Monday the line was removed, CNN reported, and the commercial will now air on Sunday.
Watch the uncensored SodaStream ad below.
