Laura Ingraham Says Ad Boycott Is ‘Stalinist’ Attempt to Change American Society
Fox News host Laura Ingraham fired back at activists pushing a boycott of her show The Ingraham Angle, saying they were left-leaning “speech czars” who wanted to suppress political dissent.
Late last month, Ingraham, 54, took to Twitter to mock David Hogg, the 17-year-old Parkland shooting survivor turned gun control activist, for not being accepted into four colleges. Hogg retaliated by encouraging advertisers to boycott The Ingraham Angle.
"Their efforts are Stalinist, pure and simple. Their objective is a total transformation of American society not through rational discourse and open debate, but through demonization and silencing," Ingraham said on her show on Monday (April 9), after a week-long hiatus.
Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, Hogg co-founded Never Again MSD, a gun control advocacy group led by himself and other MSD students. Hogg’s role in leading a nation-wide gun reform movement and participation in the group thrust him into the limelight, which resulted in conspiracy theories and personal attacks from conservatives.
David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA...totally predictable given acceptance rates.) https://t.co/wflA4hWHXY
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— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 28, 2018
After Ingraham’s March 28 Tweet, Hogg responded by posting the names 12 companies who advertised on The Ingraham Angle and encouraging them, and others, to boycott her show.
Soooo @IngrahamAngle what are your biggest advertisers ... Asking for a friend. #BoycottIngramAdverts
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Pick a number 1-12 contact the company next to that #
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Top Laura Ingraham Advertisers
1. @sleepnumber
2. @ATT
3. Nutrish
4. @Allstate & @esurance
5. @Bayer
6. @RocketMortgage Mortgage
7. @LibertyMutual
8. @Arbys
9. @TripAdvisor
10. @Nestle
11. @hulu
12. @Wayfair
Nutrish, a pet food company and third on Hogg’s list, were the first to respond. The company tweeted to Hogg: “We are in the process of removing our ads from Laura Ingraham’s program.”
So far, at least 18 companies, including Nestle, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Joseph A. Bank and Wayfair have distanced themselves from The Ingraham Angle.
On March 29, Ingraham apologized to the teen.
Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. 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. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David...(1/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
Hogg rejected Ingraham’s apology and criticized her for being a bully in an interview with CNN.
“It’s disturbing to know that somebody can bully so many people and just get away with it, especially to the level that she did,” he said.
“No matter who somebody is, no matter how big or powerful they may seem, a bully is a bully, and it’s important that you stand up to them.”