Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, said Friday that he is pulling his pillow company’s ads from Fox News because they refused to run a commercial that promotes election fraud.
Lindell, one of the channel’s biggest advertisers, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) he aimed to promote a commercial at a cyber symposium event about fraud allegations surrounding the 2020 presidential election. He informed his ad buyer to immediately get word to Fox News regarding his decision.
During a Friday appearance on “War Room Pandemic,” the MyPillow chief executive told Steve Bannon that the cable news channel is allegedly part of the “cancel culture.”
“Fox News is completely part of the cancel culture,” Lindell claimed. “They have silenced our voices, and mine being the biggest one … they won’t even report on news or an event anymore, so I said, ‘You know what? If you’re gonna do that to our country, I’m pulling all my ads.’ I can’t be part of Fox News anymore.”
Lindell told the WSJ that he is allegedly being “silenced” following a number of retailers that have stopped selling his pillow products due to his election fraud claims.
“It’s unfortunate Mr. Lindell has chosen to pause his commercial time on FOX News given the level of success he’s experienced in building his brand through advertising on the number one cable news network,” Fox News said in a statement, according to WSJ.
US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Mike Lindell (L), founder of My Pillow, during a Made in America event with US manufacturers in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, July 19, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The MyPillow chief executive is planning to run the political ad during a livestream in August, the outlet reported. The ad intends to prove — falsely — that election machines manipulated the results, and therefore, stole the election from former President Donald Trump. (RELATED: MyPillow CEO Suspended From Twitter)
Dominion Voting Systems filed defamation lawsuits against Lindell and Fox News over claims that the machines rigged the election in President Joe Biden’s favor. The voting machine company is seeking $1.3 billion in damages from the CEO and $1.6 billion from the news station.
Lindell has countersued a defamation lawsuit against Dominion, seeking $1.6 billion in damages, according to WSJ.
Fox News filed to dismiss the lawsuit, saying, “the American people deserved to know why President Trump refused to concede despite his apparent loss.” They also cited their First Amendment right to discuss Dominion’s involvement in the election.