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Shocking Paddy Power advert was banned after Oscar Pistorius murder trial joke

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Updated 20:21 15 Jul 2025 GMT+1Published 20:20 15 Jul 2025 GMT+1

Shocking Paddy Power advert was banned after Oscar Pistorius murder trial joke

More than 130,000 people signed a petition demanding for the ad to be taken down

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey

Featured Image Credit: Paddy Power

Topics: Gambling, Crime

Emma Rosemurgey
Emma Rosemurgey

Emma is an NCTJ accredited journalist who recently rejoined LADbible as a Trends Writer. She previously worked on Tyla and UNILAD, before going on to work at the Mirror Online. Contact her via [email protected]

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As Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone beer advert has allegedly been banned from TV, cinema and radio for featuring a boat load of F-bombs, it may be a good thing the commercial never made its way onto the airwaves.

While some debate whether the advert was intentionally not compliant with advertising rules, it's likely it would have received a lot of complaints and risked being booted off our screens anyway.

But, there's one advert that will probably go down in history as one of the most complained about adverts of all time, and it's not hard to see why.

Back in 2014, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ordered Paddy Power to pull its ad featuring convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius in the build-up to his trial.

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The controversial ad offered customers refunds for losing bets if the former paralympian was found not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The advertising watchdog ordered for the ad to be axed (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / Getty Images)
The advertising watchdog ordered for the ad to be axed (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / Getty Images)

"It's Oscar Time. Money back if he walks. We will refund all losing bets on the Oscar Pistorius trial if he is found not guilty," it said, alongside a picture of an Oscar trophy with Pistorius' face on it.

Soon after the advert's release, an online petition calling on the betting company to remove the advert received nearly 130,000 signatures in just four days.

"138 women died - in the UK alone - as a result of male violence in 2013. This type of random carelessness for the lives of women by Paddy Power is an affront to those women and their families," the petition wrote.

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"I am a survivor of domestic violence and abuse and I know how many women around the world are suffering right now thinking that they are lucky to be alive when poor Reeva Steenkamp is dead."

The ad received over 100,000 complaints (Paddy Power)
The ad received over 100,000 complaints (Paddy Power)

The ASA would usually allow advertising campaigns to continue while it investigates whether the advert has breeched the UK advertising code, however the watchdog said it was forced to take the 'unusual step' of forcing Paddy Power to remove the advert with immediate effect in response to the public outcry.

"We consider the ad may be seriously prejudicial to the general public on the ground of the likely further serious and/or widespread offence it may cause," the ASA said in a statement.

"We are also concerned that the good reputation of the advertising industry may be further damaged by continued publication of this ad."

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In the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, Pistorius fired multiple shots through a toilet door in his home with a licensed handgun, killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in what he claimed was a tragic accident, having believed an intruder was in the home.

Having initially been found guilty of culpable homicide, in 2015 this was overturned and Pistorius was found guilty of murder and sentenced to six years in prison. In November 2017, a further nine years were added to his sentence.

However, Pistorius was released from prison in January 2024, after a parole hearing decided he was eligible, having served eight years behind bars for his crimes.

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