ABC airs anti-abortion ad with disturbing images during The View broadcast comparing show cohosts to Nazis

ABC warned its audience before airing a disturbing political ad the network said it was required to broadcast during a live episode of The View, with the commercial depicting graphic imagery from abortions and comparing several celebrities — including all six cohosts of The View — to Nazis.

During the show's final commercial break on Thursday, a warning message appeared on screen, reading, "The following is a paid political advertisement, and the ABC Television Network is required to carry it by federal law. The advertisement contains scenes that may be disturbing to children. Viewer discretion is advised."

The explicit clip — fronted by presidential candidate and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry — opened with a shot of Miley Cyrus (pictured with a cake topped with the message "abortion is healthcare") and an image of Whoopi Goldberg seated at The View Hot Topics table.

"I am so sick of stupid celebrities and lying journalists," Terry says via voice-over in the ad, before its footage displays images of View stars Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, and Alyssa Farah Griffin; broadcasters Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer, and Dana Bash; and famous figures like Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Billie Eilish, Scarlett Johansson, and more. The commercial then shows multiple images of fetuses and, later, images of abortion procedures. "Why don't you fools follow the science?" Terry asks.

"These are dead human beings, murdered by abortion that you promote. If history even remembers you, you'll be remembered like Leni Riefenstahl and Joseph Goebbels. The name of the wicked will rot," Terry continues near the end of the anti-Kamala Harris ad, invoking the names of prominent Nazi figures.

After the clip played on air, ABC followed up with another text statement that read: "The preceding was a paid political advertisement that the ABC Television Network was required to carry under federal law. The advertisement contained scenes that may be disturbing to viewers."

Local ABC affiliates addressed the ad online, with Chicago's network station providing an editorial note explaining the commercial to its audience.

"According to the FCC, broadcast stations are 'prohibited from censoring or rejecting political ads that are paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates,'" the post said. "Terry will be on the ballot in at least 12 states so has met the criteria to be considered a legally qualified candidate."

In response to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment, an FCC representative points to a fact sheet on political programming rules, including a section outlining that "broadcast stations are prohibited from censoring or rejecting political ads that are paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates" and that "this no-censorship provision does not apply to political ads that are sponsored by non-candidate third parties."

It continues, noting that the FCC does not "review or pre-approve the content of political ads before they are broadcast" nor does it "ensure the accuracy of statements that are made by candidates and issue advertisers."

EW has reached out to a representative for The View at ABC and multiple parties depicted in the ad for comment.

In a statement to EW, a CNN representative said, "The ad in which presidential candidate Randall Terry — without merit or explanation — compares multiple respected CNN journalists and commentators to Nazis is outrageous, antisemitic, and dangerous."  

Many of the stars shown in Terry's ad have spoken about abortion rights, including the panelists of The View, who have voiced support for American citizens having the right to make decisions about their own reproductive rights without the involvement of the government.

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Swift recently endorsed Harris in the upcoming election and urged her followers to register to vote in November.

"If you haven't already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most," the singer wrote in a social post. "As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country. Recently I was made aware that AI of 'me' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC.