In order to promote the upcoming season one DVD of Sleep Hollow, FOX launched a social media marketing campaign on Tuesday which bore the headline “National Beheading Day.” While the campaign was intended to be a reference to the show’s Headless Horseman, it drew a large amount of criticism for taking place on the same day terrorist group ISIS claimed to have decapitated American journalist Steven Sotloff.

When FOX released commemorative eCards declaring #HeadlessDay, thousands of Twitter users accused the network of trying to invoke the day’s terrorist decapitation news. Think Jam, the publicity firm charged with handling the campaign, learned of Tuesday’s ISIS incident on CNN minutes after issuing the Headless Day press release, but the campaign was released on social media before the company was able to issue a retraction and apology.

“We apologize for the unfortunate timing of our Sleepy Hollow Headless Day announcement,” stated the firm. “The tragic news of Steven Sotloff’s death hit the Web as the email was being sent. Our deepest sympathies are with him and his family, and we don’t take the news lightly. Had we have known this information prior, we would have never released the alert and realize it’s in poor taste.”

“Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment recognizes and apologizes for today’s promotion for the Season One DVD release of Sleepy Hollow. We regret the unfortunate timing of our announcement and our deepest sympathies go out to the families of all involved,” the Sleepy Hollow network wrote in their official statement.