Jeep has pulled a high-profile advert featuring Bruce Springsteen from YouTube after it emerged the veteran rockstar was facing a drink-driving charge.
The singer, 71, was arrested on November 14 in a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area on the New Jersey coast, a representative for the US National Park Service said.
Springsteen is accused of driving while under the influence, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area.
The Middle. pic.twitter.com/dbsgWV35i0
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) February 8, 2021
The news came after he appeared in his first-ever advert, promoting a message of national unity in a Jeep commercial shown during Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The car giant has now removed the advert from YouTube and said “drinking and driving can never be condoned”.
A representative for Jeep told the PA news agency: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the details of a matter we have only read about and we cannot substantiate.
“But it’s also right that we pause our Big Game commercial until the actual facts can be established.
“Its message of community and unity is as relevant as ever.
“As is the message that drinking and driving can never be condoned.”
PA understands Jeep only learned of the arrest on Wednesday.
In the advert, the first of Springsteen’s illustrious career, the beloved singer echoed a message he shared during the presidential election.
The clip was filmed in the city of Lebanon, Kansas, the geographical midpoint of the contiguous US, with Springsteen “in search of common ground”.
In a monologue broadcast during the fourth quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, he said: “Now, fear has never been the best of who we are.
“And as for freedom, it’s not the property of just the fortunate few.
“It belongs to us all.
“Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, it’s what connects us and we need that connection.
“We need the middle.
“We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground.”
A spokesperson for the National Park Service said Springsteen was co-operative when he was arrested.