Fox News host Laura Ingraham announces vacation amid advertiser boycott
At least 15 companies have now pulled their ads from Ingraham's show
On Friday night, Laura Ingraham announced on her Fox News show that she would be taking off for a pre-planned vacation next week as companies continue to pull ads following comments she made on Twitter about Parkland, Fla., school shooting survivor David Hogg.
"A blessed Good Friday and Passover to all of you; I'll be off next week for Easter break with my kids," Ingraham said. "Fear not. We've got a great lineup of guest hosts to fill in for me."
"Have some healthy reflections this Holy Week," Hogg said on Twitter, responding to the news.
Ingraham, who has hosted Ingraham Angle on Fox News since October 2017, apologized to Hogg on Twitter Thursday afternoon after she had been widely criticized for taunting the 17-year-old for not being accepted into UCLA.
"On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland," Ingraham tweeted, adding that Hogg had appeared on her show the night of the shooting that left 17 dead. Ingraham did not address the situation on her show Thursday night.
But Hogg, who has been an outspoken advocate for stricter restrictions on guns and one of the leaders of last weekend's March for our Lives, didn't consider Ingraham's comments much of an apology.
"She's only apologizing after a third of her advertisers are pulling out," Hogg said on CNN's New Day Friday morning. "I think it's disgusting. … She basically tried promoting her show after 'apologizing' to me."
At least 15 companies have pulled advertisements from Ingraham's show following her comment about Hogg, including TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hulu, Johnson & Johnson, Wayfair, Nestlé, Nutrish, Jos. A. Bank, and Stitch Fix. The Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, Liberty Mutual, Principal, Office Depot, Ruby Tuesday and Jenny Craig announced on Friday they were also pulling their ads
"Atlantis does not support or agree with the recent comments made by television broadcaster Laura Ingraham," the company said in a statement. "Although we are an organization that believes in freedom of expression, we do not condone discrimination, bullying, mockery or harmful behavior of any kind."
"In our view, these statements focused on a high school student cross the line of decency. As such, we have made a decision to stop advertising on that program," TripAdvisor said in a statement. Wayfair also issued a statement, saying "the decision of an adult to personally criticize a high school student who has lost his classmates in an unspeakable tragedy is not consistent with our values"
Hogg said on CNN: "I think it's great that corporate America is standing with me and the rest of my friends, because when you come against any one of us, whether it be me or anybody else, you are coming against all of us. I think it's important that we stand together as both corporate and civic America to take action against these people and show them that they cannot push us around, especially when all we are trying to do here is save lives."
Watch:
Since the Valentine's Day shooting, Hogg has been a constant target of right-wing media personalities and politicians due to his advocacy for gun reform. Gateway Pundit, a right-wing conspiracy-theory site that has received White House press credentials from the Trump administration, suggested Hogg was a crisis actor. In a video of the student stumbling over his words that amassed more than 100,000 views before being removed from YouTube, the site accused him of "not remembering his lines."
Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler) was among the politicians to spread baseless internet chatter about Hogg and his classmates, suggesting on social media last month that Hogg might not actually be a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Benjamin Kelly, a legislative aide to Florida State Rep. Shawn Harrison, was fired after he told a Tampa Bay Times reporter that the teenagers who appeared on CNN following the shooting were paid crisis actors.
"Both kids [in the interview] are not students here but actors that travel to various crises when they happen," Kelly emailed. When asked to support his claim, Kelly sent a link to a conspiracy-theory video posted on YouTube featuring Hogg.
In February, Ingraham was widely mocked for saying NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant should "shut up and dribble" after they criticized President Trump's leadership.
Among those who responded to Ingraham's comments about the basketball players was Eagles defensive lineman Chris Long, who pointed out on Twitter that Fox News uses a variety of analysts and political commentators who have backgrounds in entertainment or sports.