Mike Lindell Pulls All MyPillow Ads From Fox News After They Refuse to Run Ad About His Election Claims

Sarah RumpfJul 29th, 2021, 10:29 pm
 
Mike Lindell

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The pillow fight between Mike Lindell and Fox News continues, as the MyPillow CEO has pulled all of his advertisements from the cable news network after a dispute regarding an entirely different commercial he wanted to run.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Lindell sought to air an ad for an upcoming “cyber symposium” in which he would present claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Lindell told the WSJ his proposed ad hadn’t mentioned specific claims of election fraud, but he has made multiple public statements that this symposium will “prove” the 2020 election was stolen.

Fox News has been sued by two different manufacturers of voting machines for allegedly defamatory comments made on-air about their products. The network has filed motions to dismiss the lawsuits, denying their coverage was defamatory and defending it as protected under the First Amendment.

Back in February, Lindell released a “documentary” called Absolute Proof, which, despite the title, did not actually provide proof of election fraud. OAN aired the “documentary” but prefaced it with an eyebrow-raising disclaimer that said Lindell was “solely and exclusively responsible” for its content.

Fox News did not confirm to the WSJ that they had rejected the ad for Lindell’s upcoming symposium, but released a statement calling it “unfortunate” that 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.”

According to Lindell, after Fox News refused to run his proposed symposium ad, he told his ad buyer to pull all of his MyPillow ads from the network as well. The pillow and bed linen products have been a regular presence on Fox News’ commercial breaks, totaling millions of dollars per year in ad time.

Salon staff writer Zachary Petrizzo reported on Wednesday that Lindell told him that Fox News was “stalling” about accepting his symposium ad buy, but that Newsmax and OAN had agreed to run the ad. (Petrizzo was formerly a contributor at Mediaite.)

Thursday, Petrizzo confirmed the WSJ’s reporting. “I am pulling everything,” Lindell told him. “Shame on you, Fox News.”

This article has been updated with additional information.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.