- Tucker Carlson is embroiled in controversy yet again after the progressive media watchdog Media Matters released recordings of his calls into the shock-jock radio program “Bubba The Love Sponge.”
- In the recordings, from years ago, Carlson is heard making comments degrading women – calling them “extremely primitive” and comparing them to dogs – and defending the now-convicted child sexual abuser Warren Jeffs.
- People are calling for advertisers including Mitsubishi, Peloton Cycle, and Allstate to cut ties with Carlson’s Fox News show.
- Outback Steakhouse, Peloton, and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca told Business Insider on Monday that they had stopped advertising on Tucker Carlson’s show earlier in 2019.
- In recent months, at least 29 brands have stopped advertising on the show following Carlson’s inflammatory on-air comments regarding women and immigrants.
People are once again calling for advertisers to ditch Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, this time after the release of recordings in which Carlson justified child marriage and disparaged women.
On Sunday, the progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America published recordings of Carlson making inflammatory comments years ago during calls to the shock-jock radio program “Bubba The Love Sponge.” In the recordings, Carlson made numerous degrading remarks about women – calling them “extremely primitive” and comparing them to dogs – and defended the now-convicted child sexual abuser Warren Jeffs.
In a statement, Carlson refused to apologize, saying: “Media Matters caught me saying something naughty on a radio show more than a decade ago. Rather than express the usual ritual contrition, how about this: I’m on television every weeknight live for an hour. If you want to know what I think, you can watch. Anyone who disagrees with my views is welcome to come on and explain why.”
Critics are once again calling for advertisers to stop running commercials on Carlson's Fox News program.
According to Media Matters, brands including Mitsubishi, Progressive, and My Pillow continue to advertise on the Fox News show.
"Our advertising media spend is determined based on demographics and psychographics, not politics," a Mitsubishi Motors North America representative told Business Insider on Monday. "Our strategic marketing intent is to share our key product news with consumers through a variety of media channels. We will monitor the situation and adjust our advertising if necessary."
Companies like @ProcterGamble and @AstraZeneca and @Ford and @LincolnMotorCo and @mitsucars and @CapitalOne and @Amgen apparently think they need to give money to a guy who is proud to call women "primitive" and argue child rape should be legal.
cc @mmfa https://t.co/d48uSP6gAs
— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) March 11, 2019
Carlson has faced backlash in recent months over some of his comments about women and immigrants on his Fox News show, including saying that immigrants coming to the US from impoverished regions make the country "poorer and dirtier." Fox News did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
At least 33 advertisers have cut ties with the program in recent months, including CareerBuilder, Red Lobster, and SmileDirectClub.
Outback Steakhouse, Peloton, and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca all appear on lists being circulated on social meda of advertisers on Carlson's show. While each has recieved backlash on social media on Monday, the three brands said they stopped running advertisements on the program earlier this year.
"Peloton has not only ceased advertising on Mr. Carlson's show, as of early January, but also made the decision several weeks ago to suspend our advertising across all networks that over-index on political opinion shows, as we feel they can be divisive and do not reflect our company's values of inclusiveness and unity," Jessica Kleiman, a representative for Peloton, said in an email to Business Insider on Monday.
Outback Steakhouse stopped advertising on the show in January, according to a representative.
AstraZeneca told Business Insider it was no longer advertising on Tucker Carlson's show and had actually stopped doing so earlier this year. According to a representative, AstraZeneca will not be advertising on the program in the future.
Business Insider has contacted brands that still advertise on the show for comment on their future plans and will update the list if any brands indicate they are planning to cut ads.
Here's the full list of brands that have pulled their ads from Carlson's show in recent months:
Peloton
AstraZeneca
Outback Steakhouse
Source: Business Insider
Red Lobster
Source: Business Insider
IHOP
Source: Business Insider
Samsung
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Jaguar Land Rover
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Just For Men
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Nautilus, the parent company of Bowflex
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Ancestry.com
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Robitussin, a product of Pfizer
Source: Hollywood Reporter
SanDisk
Source: Hollywood Reporter
SodaStream
Source: Hollywood Reporter
The United Explorer credit card
Source: Hollywood Reporter
TD Ameritrade
Source: Hollywood Reporter
SmileDirectClub
Source: NBC News
Scottevest
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Zenni Optical
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Indeed.com
Source: Twitter
CareerBuilder
Source: Hollywood Reporter
NerdWallet
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Voya Financial
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Minted
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Pacific Life Insurance
Source: Twitter
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Farmers Insurance
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Lexus/Toyota
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Graze snacks
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Credit Sesame
Source: Twitter
LEESA
Source: Hollywood Reporter
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Source: Hollywood Reporter
AbbVie
Source: Twitter