PETA submits controversial Super Bowl ad featuring ‘priest’ who won't absolve meat industry exec

A controversial new PETA ad, featuring actor James Cromwell, is making the rounds on the internet.

The ad, which the organization submitted to run during the Super Bowl, features Cromwell — an outspoken vegan — as a priest who listens to the confessions of a meat industry executive.

During the ad — titled, "Redemption" — the executive can be seen entering a church, and ultimately, a confessional booth.

The businessman tells Cromwell's priest character that he is seeking forgiveness because he "lied to the world," claiming that he was responsible for crafting terms like "humanely slaughtered" and "free-range."

The executive adds that there's actually no such thing as "humanely slaughtered" and requests to be forgiven.

Cromwell's priest character responds and says that there's no forgiveness for what he's done.

The man leaves the confessional booth looking both subdued and shamefaced.

What did PETA say about their ad?

PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said in a release: "No Hail Mary can absolve someone for duping consumers into feeling good about buying 'humane' meat, a myth exploded by countless undercover exposés inside the businesses that produce it."

Lange's statement continued, "PETA’s Super Bowl spot encourages meat-eaters to seek redemption by choosing only truly humane meals: vegan wings, vegan hamburgers—vegan everything."

So this ad is actually going to run during the Super Bowl?

The ad will not run during Sunday's big game.

A spokesperson for PETA told Country Living that when the ad was submitted, they were quoted a price of about $10 million to run the ad during prime-time programming.

Instead of paying the amount, PETA opted to run the ad online instead.

Another portion of PETA's news release read, "The group is releasing 'Redemption' online after NBC demanded that it pay $10.4 million for a 30-second slot before the network would consider the ad, even though multiple reports state that comparable spots cost an average of $5 million."

Sports Illustrated also reported that Super Bowl LII ads on average would run more than $5 million for a 30-second ad.

According to Country Living, however, a spokesperson for NBC responded to the story of PETA's ad and said, "The price we quoted PETA was consistent with the way we work with advertisers who are seeking to purchase a single ad in the Super Bowl."