Amid a slew of high-profile sponsorship departures from Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show after she opted to mock David Hogg, a Parkland shooting survivor, for his unfortunate college rejections, the host made a bombshell announcement that she would be taking a “pre-planned vacation.” The move is strikingly reminiscent of former Fox host Bill O’Reilly’s own “pre-planned vacation” before ultimately being ousted from the network after his advertisers jumped ship in similar fashion.
BREAKING: Laura Ingraham announced on tonight's show that she would take next week off and be replaced by "a great lineup of guest hosts" pic.twitter.com/Ucoa4D45O2
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) March 31, 2018
Hogg took the opportunity to build on the success he’s had so far, calling on the right wing host to apologize for other high profile instances of bullying.
“A bully is a bully and it’s important that you stand up to them,” Hogg said.
“She’s tried calling out people at Dartmouth University for their sexual orientation and she told Lebron James to shut up and dribble,” he added “I don’t see any apology for those people.”
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Hogg’s demand for more public apologies comes as seventeen companies have abandoned the Fox News host after her misguided attack, in which she accused him of “whining” about being “rejected by four colleges to which he applied.”
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
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 28, 2018
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As of now, sponsors including Honda, Miracle-Ear, Principal, Ruby Tuesday, Liberty Mutual, Office Depot, Nestle, Wayfair, TripAdvisor, Nutrish, Expedia, Joseph A. Banks, Hulu, Stitch Fix, Atlantis Bahamas, Jenny Craig, and Johnson & Johnson have all boycotted Ingraham after her misguided remarks.
Their departures come only days after Hogg – along with the help of his friends, all of whom wield a lot of power with their social media followings – took to Twitter to demand Ingraham’s advertisers pull their sponsorship from her program.
Pick a number 1-12 contact the company next to that #
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— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Amid the exodus, Ingraham did attempt to issue a half-hearted apology to Hogg.
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
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… immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how "poised" he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
Hogg, for his part, firmly rejected the transparent olive branch.
I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I️ in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children. https://t.co/H0yWs4zMGk
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Kudos to the 17-year-old for finally holding this bully accountable.
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