Fox Broadcasting President Peter Ligouri has banned use of the word retarded in response to a complaint from a Down Syndrome advocacy group.

Fox Entertainment Group General Counsel Lawrence Jacobs made the announcement in a news release Friday.

Regional chapters of the National Down Syndrome Society said it received complaints from viewers of American Idol about a commercial for a new Fox show, The Loop, which included the statement: You have a retarded squirrel look on your face.

Unfortunately, it is too late to edit the show, which debuts, March 15, but Fox pulled the ad immediately and Ligouri said the offensive word would never again appear in any Fox TV show, Jacobs said.

Acting NDSS Director Jon Coleman lauded Ligouri's groundbreaking decision and expressed optimism other studios and networks would follow suit.