
Image source: TheBlaze
Nutrish, celebrity chef Rachel Ray's pet food company, appears to be the first advertiser to jump ship from Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" after Parkland, Florida, student David Hogg called for a boycott of the show's advertisers.
Hogg took issue with Ingraham's mention of his college application rejections on her Twitter page, and on Wednesday night, began a Twitter frenzy of his own in calling for people to inundate the show's advertisers with complaints.
"We are in the process of removing our ads from Laura Ingraham’s program," a tweet from the pet food company's Twitter page read on Thursday.
We are in the process of removing our ads from Laura Ingraham’s program.
— Nutrish (@Nutrish) March 29, 2018
Earlier on Thursday, Hogg tweeted, "I'm so sorry to everyone that @IngrahamAngle has ever tried to hurt we are here for you and we love you."
I'm so sorry to everyone that @IngrahamAngle has ever tried to hurt we are here for you and we love you
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Hogg, 17, spoke with TMZ host Harvey Levin on Tuesday, where he detailed his disappointment in not getting acceptance letters to his top schools — which included UCLA.
“It’s not been too great for me and some of the other members in the movement,” Hogg told Levin. “We got rejected from … UCLA, and UCSD, so it’s been kind of annoying having to deal with that, and everything else that’s been going on, but at this point, it’s, you know, we’re changing the world.”
He later added that it was no sweat off his back if colleges didn’t want to support him.
Levin said that it must be a “little disappointing” to endure the trauma of the mass killing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School only to be turned down from choice schools.
“You picked yourself up and you created a movement that has really resonated around the world,” he added.
Hogg responded in the affirmative, noting that he is disappointed.
“It is, it is absolutely disappointing,” the outspoken gun control advocate answered. “But at this point, we’re already changing the world. If colleges want to support us in that, great. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter. We’re still going to change the world.”
On Wednesday, Ingraham, who hosts Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle,” shared a story detailing Hogg’s college rejections.
She wrote, “David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates).”
David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA...totally predictable given acceptance rates.) https://t.co/wflA4hWHXY
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 28, 2018
In response, Hogg compiled a list of Ingraham's advertisers and told his 600K strong Twitter followers to contact those companies.
Ingraham had neither responded to Hogg’s tweets — nor Nutrish's comments — at the time of this writing.
UPDATE 1:19 p.m.:
Ingraham tweeted about her original remarks later on Thursday.
She wrote, "Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. 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. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how 'poised' he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion."
Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. 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. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David...(1/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
... immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how "poised" he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
UPDATE 2:19 p.m.:
At the time of this writing, two other advertisers have jumped ship on "The Ingraham Angle" — Wayfair and TripAdvisor.
According to CNBC, TripAdvisor, in a statement, said they do not "condone the inappropriate comments made" by Ingraham.
"In our view, these statements focused on a high school student, cross the line of decency," the statement added. "As such, we have made a decision to stop advertising on that program."
Wayfair, in a statement, told the outlet, "As a company, we support open dialogue and debate on issues. However, the decision of an adult to personally criticize a high school student who has lost his classmates in an unspeakable tragedy is not consistent with our values."
"We do not plan to continue advertising on this particular program," the statement added.
UPDATE: 4:10 p.m.:
Hogg has said that he'll only thank Ingraham for her apology if she effective denounces her own network, Fox News.
In a tweet, Hogg wrote, "I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children."
He added, "Focus less on fear and more on facts. Then we can save lives in this country together."
I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I️ in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children. https://t.co/H0yWs4zMGk
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Focus less on fear and more on facts. Then we can save lives in this country together.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Hogg also spoke with the New York Times, where he blasted Ingraham's apology.
"She only apologized after we went after her advertisers. It kind of speaks for itself,” Hogg said, and called Ingraham's comments "extremely frustrating."
"I’m not going to stoop to her level and go after her on a personal level," he told the outlet. "I’m going to go after her advertisers."
At the time of this writing, Expedia is the fourth company to jump ship on Ingraham's show.