Kansas City, Mo. ? The Applebee’s restaurant group, which drew fire from a conservative Christian organization for advertising on the Bravo reality miniseries “Gay Weddings,” said the ad ran by mistake.

In fact, a spokeswoman for Applebee’s International, Inc., said the company specifically asked the cable television channel not to run the spot during “Gay Weddings.”

“As an advertiser, we like most companies prefer to stay with noncontroversial shows,” said spokeswoman Laurie Ellison.

But Applebee’s now finds itself being blasted by the Christian group, while disappointing gay activists who said the nation’s largest group of casual restaurants runs the risk of alienating a significant part of its customer base.

The ad ran one time during the first episode of “Gay Weddings” on Sept. 2.

On Sept. 4, Focus on the Family’s Web site blasted the show and named Applebee’s, based in Overland Park, as one of the miniseries’ advertisers.

Bravo admitted its mistake.