Chicken conglomerate KFC is claiming that a controversial ad playing in Australia wasn't racist, even though it shows a white man passing out a bucket of chicken to raucous black sports fans sitting near him.

The ad, which has been pulled by KFC, was never intended for U.S. broadcast, but when it was posted on YouTube, the ad caused a stir worldwide.

The commercial features a white Australian cricket fan looking exasperated as black supporters of a rival team are loudly cheering. The white fan asks aloud how to get out of an "awkward situation." He then whips out a bucket of KFC chicken, and the black fans greedily start munching.

A racial conflagration is averted, and the white man says aloud, "Too easy."

There is no doubt that if you are looking to be offended, the commercial supplies plenty of ammo. Here in the United States, the stereotype of black people loving fried chicken has been a staple of racist jokes for generations.

But before we start planning a national boycott of KFC or asking Jesse Jackson to intervene, do we know if that same fried chicken stereotype exists in Australia. It's hard to believe KFC would intentionally alienate black chicken consumers in Australia with a blatantly racist ad involving fried chicken.

This is clearly a debate that got heated in the translation from Australian to American.