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Advertisers pull ads from Fox’s Ingraham after her jab at Parkland student

By CRISTIANO LIMA

A growing number of companies will heed calls from a survivor of the Florida high school shooting to drop their advertisements on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News program after the host mocked the student on Twitter.

At least five said they would cease buying ads on the show. Nutrish, celebrity cook Rachael Ray’s dog food company, announced on Thursday that it was “in the process of removing ads from Laura Ingraham’s program.” TripAdvisor, the American travel website, told POLITICO that it had “made a decision to stop advertising on that program.”

“We believe strongly in the values of our company, especially the one that says, ‘We are better together,’” a TripAdvisor spokesperson said in an email. “We also believe Americans can disagree while still being agreeable, and that the free exchange of ideas within a community, in a peaceful manner, is the cornerstone of our democracy.”

The spokesperson added: “We do not, however, condone the inappropriate comments made by this broadcaster. In our view, these statements focused on a high school student, cross the line of decency.”

Wayfair, the online home-goods store, said the Fox News host’s comments were “not consistent with our values” in announcing that it would also pull ads from the show. A spokesperson for Nestle confirmed in an email that the company had “no plans to buy ads on the show in the future,” and Expedia also said that it would follow suit in cutting promotional ties with the program.

The decisions came in response to an online plea from David Hogg, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, for the company to cease its promotions on the show.

Ingraham on Wednesday shared a report on Twitter that Hogg’s college application had been rejected by certain schools. “David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it,” the Fox News host wrote.

Hogg responded by listing several of Ingraham’s top advertisers — Nutrish, Sleep Number, AT&T, Allstate, Esurance, Bayer Liberty Mutual, Arby’s, TripAdvisor, Nestle, Wayfair, Rocket Mortgage by Quickens Loans, and Hulu — and calling for a boycott of the program.

“I’m so sorry to everyone that @IngrahamAngle has ever tried to hurt we are here for you and we love you,” Hogg tweeted on Thursday.

Representatives for the other companies listed by Hogg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ingraham on Thursday issued an apology via Twitter for the remarks.

“Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA — including David Hogg,” she said. “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.”

Ingraham added that Hogg was “welcome to come on my show anytime for a productive discussion.”

Hogg and other Parkland students have faced backlash from conservative commentators, who have criticized their lobbying for gun control legislation in response to the deadly shooting last month in which 17 were killed and several others wounded.

The attack has sparked a wave of protests. Over the weekend, Hogg and other students helped organize the March for Our Lives in protest of gun violence.