Buzzfeed has reportedly backed out of a million-dollar advertising deal with the Republican National Committee because showing ads for Donald Trump hurts the feelings of the website’s wimpy employees.
Politico obtained an email founder and CEO Jonah Peretti sent to Buzzfeed employees Monday morning, detailing why the site was turning down the $1.3 million deal.
“Since signing this advertising deal [in April], Donald Trump, as you know, has become the presumptive nominee of his party,” wrote Peretti. “The tone and substance of his campaign are unique in the history of modern US politics.”
“Trump advocates banning Muslims from traveling to the United States, he’s threatened to limit the free press, and made offensive statements toward women, immigrants, descendants of immigrants, and foreign nationals.”
“The Trump campaign is directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world and in some cases, such as his proposed ban on international travel for Muslims, would make it impossible for our employees to do their jobs,” he continued.
Peretti closes by noting that, ultimately, this was a business decision and it “will have no influence on [Buzzfeed’s] continuing coverage of the campaign” before stating that Buzzfeed doesn’t “run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won’t accept Trump ads for the exact same reason.”