NBC refutes GOP Rep. Mike Waltz’s claim the network refused to air anti-China ad

Florida GOP congressman Mike Waltz said this weekend NBC refused to air an anti-China ad he paid for that was to air during coverage of the Winter Olympics. NBC has refuted Waltz’s claim.

Waltz, who is running for re-election this year, purchased a 30-second ad spot that was set to air during Monday night’s prime time coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The ad, which was scheduled to appear in the Washington, D.C. area, sharply criticizes China’s history of human rights atrocities and chastises major corporate sponsors of the Games for participating. Waltz also refers to the Winter Games as the “Genocide Games” in the ad.

In an interview with the New York Post, Waltz blasted the International Olympic Committee for hosting the Olympics in China in spite of its continued human rights violations.

“This is the equivalent of holding the Olympics in Germany in the 1940s or Rwanda during their atrocities,” Waltz said. “It is beyond the pale that the [International Olympic Committee] didn’t move the games.”

A spokesman for NBC has denied removing the ad, saying it had only requested some changes to be made so it could air. A spokesman for Rep. Waltz, James Hewitt, confirmed that NBC had requested changes to the spot, telling the Post, “NBC will not run our ad unless we remove the corporate logos of companies.”

Hewitt also told the Post that the Waltz campaign, which funded the commercial, has refused to change it.