Several advertisers are saying they intend to stop running ads on Fox News shows hosted by Jeanine Pirro and Tucker Carlson.
Each of the Fox News anchors has attracted criticism after making inflammatory statements.
Three advertisers — Novo Nordisk, LetGo and Nerdwallet — are either removing or pausing their ads for Pirro’s show, “Justice with Jeanine Pirro,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The advertisers were acting in response to Pirro's statement on her March 9 show that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Muslim, is "Sharia-compliant" because she wears a traditional hijab head covering.
Fox News condemned Pirro’s comments.
Carlson has been under fire since the liberal activist group Media Matters for America on Sunday night released recordings of comments he made during appearances on a radio show in which he disparaged sex workers in Florida and described women as being “primitive.”
Carlson, who joined the Fox network in 2009, made the comments on a radio talk show hosted by “Bubba the Love Sponge” (whose real name is Todd Alan Clem) from 2006 to 2011. Carlson was a host on MSNBC from 2005 to 2008. He has also worked for CNN and PBS.
Some companies, including pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, have confirmed they are no longer advertising on his show. Sheex, a bedding firm, also issued a statement saying it would cease advertising on Carlson's show, according to several reports.
“AstraZeneca can confirm we are no longer advertising on the Tucker Carlson show and we will not be advertising on this program in the future,” the company said in a statement. A representative for Outback Steakhouse also confirmed it is no longer advertising on Carlson’s show, although it is unclear when the brand last did so.
According to Variety, advertisers such as MyPillow and Claritin-D remained on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Monday.
Fox News said in a statement that it stands by Carlson.
"We cannot and will not allow voices like Tucker Carlson to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts from the likes of Moveon.org, Media Matters and Sleeping Giants,” the company said in an emailed statement.
This is the second time in three months that Carlson has raised concerns among some advertisers. He suggested in December that immigrants made America “poorer” and “dirtier,” which drew a rebuke from Pacific Life insurance, which said it was pausing its advertising.
MyPillow is the largest advertiser on the show in 2019, according to iSpot.tv, an ad measurement firm. The company estimates that Carlson’s show earned $28 million of advertising revenue so far in 2019.
On Wednesday, Fox News hosted a meeting with its advertisers known as an upfront, in which companies tout their content and audience.
“Today more than 100 advertisers attended FOX News Channel’s first ever upfront presentation which showcased our best in class journalism and opinion programming," Marianne Gambelli, president of advertising sales at FOX News, said in an emailed statement. "We were extremely proud to open our doors and introduce the media buying community to our 'America’s Watching' campaign, incredible team of talent and new state of the art studios.”
