Update 2:30 p.m. Pacific: Includes Hawaiian station dropping show.
And then there were nine. AOL Corp. became the latest sponsor to suspend ads on Rush Limbaugh's radio show after the conservative shock-jock last week called a Georgetown University law student a "slut" and a "prostitute" for supporting wider availability to contraceptives.
"At AOL one of our core values is that we act with integrity. We have monitored the unfolding events and have determined that Mr. Limbaugh’s comments are not in line with our values. As a result we have made the decision to suspend advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Radio show," AOL said Monday in a brief statement on its Facebook page. AOL was not immediately available to comment.
The announcement came almost at the same time that Limbaugh asserted on his radio show that his written apology to Sandra Fluke on Saturday was "sincere."
"I do not think she was either of those two words," Limbaugh said on his radio show.
Fluke dismissed his apology, saying it changed nothing.
"I don't think that a statement like this issued, saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything, and especially when that statement is issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support," Fluke told ABC’s "The View” on Monday.
AOL is among nine sponsors who have suspended advertising on Limbaugh's show, which is hosted by Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks Inc. Others include mortgage lender Quicken Loans, florist ProFlowers, retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, software maker Citrix Systems Inc., tax mediation company Tax Resolution Services Co., online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.
Hilo, Hawaii, station KPUA, said Monday it was dropping the show. The station was one of three in the state that airs the Limbaugh program according to the show's website.
Limbaugh on Wednesday called Fluke a "slut" for her support of the administration's policy on contraception, which would require employers, even ones with religious affiliations, to provide coverage for birth control costs.
The radio show host repeated the charges on Thursday, saying: "Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You'd call 'em a slut, a prostitute or whatever."
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment operates more than 850 radio stations in the U.S., and Premiere says it's the largest radio content provider in the country, syndicating programs to more than 5,000 affiliate stations.
When asked which companies or organizations were the largest advertisers on Limbaugh's show, Nelson said that that information was "proprietary." Nelson didn't immediately respond Sunday to questions about how much revenue the company will lose with the advertiser defections or how much revenue Limbaugh's show brings in.
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Later Monday, Limbaugh told listeners on his radio show that while he was sorry to see some advertisers go, "they have profited handsomely from you."
"They've decided they don't want you or your business anymore. So be it. For me, this program is always about you," he went on to say. Limbaugh said that he rejects "millions of dollars of advertising each year."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
