Oscars 2020 Facing Backlash Over Rejected Postpartum Mom Ad for ‘Being Too Graphic’

ABC and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is receiving some backlash for rejecting an ad from the Oscars 2020, saying it was “too graphic.” The commercial in question was for Frida, a company that makes personal care products for mothers and babies. It concerned post-partum recovery, and many mothers think the network should not be so quick to shy away from the topic.

Frida revealed that its ad was rejected by ABC and the Academy on Wednesday. The company posted the full commercial online so that viewers could just for themselves whether it was “too graphic” for TV.

“The ad you’re about to watch was rejected by ABC [and] the Oscars from airing during this year’s award show,” Frida’s statement read. “It’s not ‘violent, political’ or sexual in nature. Our ad is not ‘religious or lewd’ and does not portray ‘guns or ammunition’. ‘Feminine hygiene [and] hemorrhoid relief’ are also banned subjects.”

“It’s just a new mom, home with her baby and her new body for the first time. Yet it was rejected,” Frida went on. “And we wonder why new moms feel unprepared. We make products that help women prepare for postpartum recovery. We’re Frida Mom.”

The ad itself showed a new mother waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a crying baby. She wore tank top, and gauze underwear with a maxi pad inside. After seeing to her baby, she waddled into the bathroom, where the ad showed her applying various products to her pelvis with difficulty. It then presented more convenient alternatives from Frida.

After the ad went up online, many viewers agreed with the company that ABC and the Academy should have allowed it to air. This included actress Busy Philipps, who shared the commercial on Instagram along with her outrage.

“I DO believe so strongly that the more we can NORMALIZE A WOMAN’S BODILY EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA, the better off our culture and society will be,” she wrote. “AND YES THAT MEANS ADS TOO. You probably don’t even flinch when an Erectile Disfunction ad comes on but THIS AD IS REJECTED?!”

“I’m so f—ing sick of living in a society where the act of simply BEING A WOMAN is rejected by the gatekeepers of media,” she went on. “Well. Shame on them and NOT on us for simply being human women.”

Other stars agreed with Philipps in the comments on her post, including Michelle Monaghan, Elizabeth Banks and Katie Lowes. Hundreds of fans posted their affirmations as well. So far, neither ABC nor the Academy has offered a response to Frida or Philipps.

The Oscars are live on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.