Entertainment

Uber Eats removes controversial portion of Super Bowl ad after backlash

By
Social Links for Jack Hobbs
Published Feb. 11, 2024, 3:06 p.m. ET

It’s shell-ved.

Following salty backlash, Uber Eats removed part of its Super Bowl ad that roasted people with peanut allergies.

The minutelong commercial, which centers around forgetfulness, features Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, as well as rapper Jelly Roll and Usher, who is slated to perform at halftime.

In one scene, a man who has broken out in hives and sports a swollen eye can be seen eating from a peanut butter jar before remarking: “There’s peanuts in peanut butter? … Oh, it’s the primary ingredient.”

Uber’s ad immediately came under fire when it debuted Tuesday, with social media users arguing it’s rude to the millions of people who suffer from the life-threatening allergy.

Uber's advertisement immediately came under fire after it was released to the public on Tuesday with many social media users citing the ad as rude to millions of people who suffer from the life-threatening allergy.
Following salty backlash, Uber Eats removed part of its Super Bowl ad that roasted people with peanut allergies. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
During one scene of the advertisement, a man, who has broken out in hives as well as sporting a swollen eye, can be seen eating from a peanut butter jar before remarking: “There’s peanuts in peanut butter? Oh, it’s the primary ingredient."
In one scene, a man who has broken out in hives and sports a swollen eye can be seen eating from a peanut butter jar before remarking: “There’s peanuts in peanut butter? … Oh, it’s the primary ingredient.” Uber Eats

“We’re incredibly disappointed by @UberEats’ use of life-threatening food allergies as humor in its Super Bowl ad,” the nonprofit group Food Allergy Research & Education wrote on X. “The suffering of 33M+ Americans with this condition is no joke. Life-threatening food allergy is a disease, not a diet. Enough is enough.”

Sung Poblete, CEO of FARE, said Friday that she had spoken with Uber, which had “made a change to the ad that will air to the Super Bowl’s wide audience” by “editing out the reference to the peanut allergy.”

The Post reached out to Uber reps for comment.

The ad, which centers around forgetfulness, features several celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, David Beckham, his wife Victoria as well as rapper Jelly Roll and Usher, who is slated to perform at the game's halftime.
The minutelong commercial, which centers around forgetfulness, features Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, as well as rapper Jelly Roll and Usher, who is slated to perform at halftime. Courtesy of Uber Eats/MEGA

The new ad, which was shared by the ride-sharing company on Sunday, now shows a man who has forgotten how to “have a seat.”

Nevertheless, the original ad still exists at an unlisted link on YouTube.

It does include a pseudo-disclaimer: “Please please please do not forget there are peanuts in peanut butter.”

For some, updating the ad was not enough.

“You had a really great commercial til the peanut allergy guy,” slammed one X user in a since-deleted post.

“Food allergies aren’t funny, and they’re definitely not forgettable,” a second seethed. “When you joke about allergies you teach the public it’s ok to not take them seriously, and that can have deadly consequences.”

“Trust me we don’t forget we have life-threatening food allergies, we deal with it daily,” a third person added. “Take it seriously please stop playing around with our lives not funny.”