For years, presidents have granted interviews with news networks that host the Super Bowl. This year, however, it appears the interview will not be happening.
A spokesperson for the White House confirmed Friday evening that the interview with the President would not be taking place.
According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement on Twitter, Fox canceled.
“The President was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans. We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled,” the post read.
Fox Soul is primarily geared toward black Americans and viewership and is an interactive streaming channel, according to its website.
According to multiple news outlets, such as WFAA Dallas, which is owned by ABC and Bloomberg, a spokesperson for Fox then released a statement that contradicted the White House Press Secretary statement.
“After the White House reached out to Fox Soul Thursday evening, there was some initial confusion,” the spokesperson said. “Fox Soul looks forward to interviewing the President for Super Bowl Sunday.”
The White House then released another statement.
“As we said earlier, we had arranged an interview with FOX Sports Host Mike Hill & Vivica A. Fox with the President ahead of the Super Bowl and Fox Corp. had the interview cancelled,” the statement said. “Fox has since put out a statement indicating the interview was rescheduled, which is inaccurate,” the statement read.
In years past, presidents have sat down with journalists to interview before the big game.
In previous years, President Joe Biden spoke to Lester Holt from NBC News and Norah O’Donnell from CBS.
The Dallas Express contacted Fox for additional information and for clarification on the matter and was sent the statement Fox made from Brian Nick, chief communications officer.
“After the White House reached out to FOX Soul Thursday evening, there was some initial confusion. FOX Soul looks forward to interviewing the President for Super Bowl Sunday,” the statement reads.
Nevertheless, with the back and forth and the confusion, the interview has been officially canceled.
The Dallas Express contacted the White House for comment, but the White House did not immediately respond.