Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday reports of advertisers dropping his show contain “misinformation,” and in fact new sponsors are lining up.
Separately, a web site that facilitates extramarital affairs has offered to buy up any time vacated by any sponsors who may have left.
AshleyMadison.com’s CEO said in a letter to Limbaugh’s ad manager they would buy up that time for the next three months.
“We do not believe Mr. Limbaugh should be penalized for expressing his opinion, especially in America. We are writing to offer to step up and fill the void left by the corporations who have pulled their advertising,” Noel Biderman wrote.
In a subsequent interview, Biderman said he was surprised by the e-mail support he's recieved over the offer, which he called "100 percent legitimate."
"I’m happy to associate myself with controversial figures. I am one myself. My brand is," Biderman said.
He noted Limbaugh's audience was obviously supporting the host and "that audience will still be there" after the controversy has run its course.
On his show, Limbaugh said the math used to calculate the number of advertisers was faulty and the show had lined up “three brand-new, full-fledged sponsors starting in the next two weeks.”
“Obviously, I'm not gonna tell you who they are today,” he said.
Full transcript of Limbaugh’s comments at Rushlimbaugh.com.
He also said two sponsors have asked to return, and “one of them is practically begging to come back.”
Limbaugh says his show is carried on 600 stations. He criticized “mainstream media” reports as not understanding the relationship between national and local advertising purchases.
Since Limbaugh's controversial statements about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke last week, some advertisers have dropped his radio talk show and at least two radio stations have said they will no longer air it. Limbaugh said one of the numbers of advertisers being discussed was 28.
He called Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" in reference to her testimony to a congressional panel on insurers covering costs of birth control for women.
Limbaugh has apologized for the "slut" remark, saying he had gone too far in his attack on Fluke. She rejected the apology.
Reuters contributed to this report.
