‘Offensive’ Julia Louis-Dreyfus Commercial Pulled From Airwaves [Video]

Some people don’t think actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is funny.

A TV commercial featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been yanked from Israeli television because it was deemed too offensive to fat people.

In the Julia Louis-Dreyfus commercial, the former Seinfeld star rubs the stomach of a potato-chip eating colleague on an elevator and congratulates the woman on her pregnancy. The joke is that the overweight woman is not pregnant.

The ad, which promotes Israeli satellite television provider Yes, offers up the slogan “Made a mistake? Just fix it!” Louis-Dreyfus was “Elaine Benes” on Seinfeld.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, an organization called the Yedid Association for Community Empowerment lodged a complaint that the spot stigmatized “weight-challenged” persons.

Israeli government officials agreed. The Second Authority for Television & Radio ordered the commercial to be taken down: “The Yes commercial has been hurtful to a portion of the public, despite the inherent freedom of speech in advertising media.”

According to London’s Daily Mail, Yes officials initially defended the ad on the grounds that the only person being mocked was the actress herself:

“The playful commercial was based on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ past characters, and the message is how one may handle making a mistake. If anyone is being ridiculed throughout the spot it is Julia herself, who is the one making these mistakes.”

Yes apparently had second thoughts and issued an apology. In other words, Yes said no to the Julia Louis-Dreyfus commercial:

“It was not our intention to offend any population whatsoever and if it hurt anyone, we are deeply sorry.”

Do you think the Julia Louis-Dreyfus commercial was so offensive that removing it from the airwaves and the internet was justified or was this an overreaction? Watch for yourself and decide:

[Top image credit: Shutterstock]