Fox has apologized for promoting X-Men: Apocalypse with images of Jennifer Lawrence's character Mystique being strangled by Oscar Isaac's Apocalypse with the tagline: "Only the strong will survive."

"In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse we didn't immediately recognize the upsetting connotation of this image in print form," Fox said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter Friday.

But these images have been circulating for nearly a year, first appearing in a press package in July 2015 and on billboards for the past four months. The delay shines a negative light on Fox's apology, which comes as complaints about the images have recently ballooned with celebrities stirring the controversy.

"Once we realized how insensitive it was, we quickly took steps to remove those materials. We apologized for our actions and would never condone violence against women," Fox said.



"There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled."

Actress Rose McGowan called out Fox's billboards in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Thursday.

"There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid," she said.

She went on to directly challenge the media company, asking, "Since you can't manage to put any women directors on your slate for the next two years, how about you at least replace your ad?"

New York blogger EV Grieve posted a photo of the poster last month above a subway station in Manhattan that had been covered with eight pieces of paper that read: "This violence in my kid's face is not okay.”

Mashable has reached out to Fox for a comment.

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