Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Photo: BANG Showbiz via Reuters Connect

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.