Laura Ingraham’s return to Fox News tonight doesn’t mark the end of her bad news: Allstate insurance has quietly dropped Ingraham’s show, telling employees in an internal memo that her comments about Parkland student David Hogg were “inconsistent” with company values.
Ingraham returned to “The Ingraham Angle” Monday night after the week-long vacation she announced amid the fallout over her comments. In a March 31 memo, obtained by TheWrap, Allstate said it severed ties with Ingraham’s show on Wednesday, March 28. That was the day Ingraham posted a tweet accusing Hogg of “whining” that he didn’t get into several colleges. Allstate is at least the 20th advertiser to drop Ingraham.
“Laura Ingraham’s comments about David Hogg were inconsistent with our values,” the memo read. “Allstate believes in youth empowerment and last year helped 5 million youth find their voices and take action to make the world better. We have not advertised on ‘The Ingraham Angle’ since Wednesday. We hope our youth can help us find a path to a less divisive future.”
Three Allstate customers, who do not know each other, sent TheWrap emails that they said were sent by their Allstate agents which included the exact same statement used in the memo.
A spokeswoman for the company would not confirm the memo’s authenticity, only saying: “We’ve taken note of your concern.”
When asked if the company had any future ads scheduled to appear on the show, the spokeswoman said: “I cannot answer that question.”
This isn’t the first time a company has subtly dropped “The Ingraham Angle.” Some advertisers have struggled with the Ingraham issue, trying to distance themselves from her tweet about Hogg without offending conservative customers who may agree with her on other issues.
As TheWrap first reported last week, Ace Hardware also quietly dropped Ingraham but did not send a statement announcing its decision.
Men’s clothing retailer Jos A Bank has said it never bought ads on Ingraham’s show specifically, but rather from Fox News. Still, ads for the clothing company have stopped appearing on the show since the flap arose, according to liberal watchdog group Media Matters.
Because of the questions over whether Jos A. Bank advertised with Fox News or Ingraham, TheWrap is not counting it among the 20 advertisers that have dropped her show.
Hogg responded to Ingraham’s March 28 tweet by urging his followers on social media to target Ingraham’s advertisers. Ingraham subsequently apologized, and noted that anyone would be proud of his 4.1 GPA.
Since the “whining” tweet, “The Ingraham Angle” has had its ad time cut roughly in half, according to CNN.
Ingraham went on vacation two days after her tweet, and is scheduled to return to the airwaves tonight.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Laura Ingraham's 8 Biggest Feuds, from David Hogg to LeBron James (Photos)
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Laura Ingraham lost eight sponsors from her Fox News show this week after criticizing Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. And it's not even the first time she's been at the center of a public feud this year. Here are several recent instances where Ingraham has taken to Twitter or to the air and stirred national attention.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
David Hogg
On March 28, Ingraham tweeted, "David Hogg by Rejected Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it." Hogg then called for a boycott of 12 companies that advertise on Ingraham's show. Eight sponsors in all, Hulu, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Nutrish, Expedia, Stitch Fix, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle pulled their ads from “The Ingraham Angle.” Ingraham issued an apology, but didn't address the topic on her show and hasn't yet deleted her original tweet. Hogg then told CNN that he plans to put even more pressure on Ingraham and others. “The fact that they’re going after us personally shows that what we’re doing is working. We have them scared and now we have to go even harder,” Hogg said.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
LeBron James
When NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant made some anti-Trump remarks during an interview with ESPN's Cari Champion, Ingraham called James's comments "ignorant" and said, "You’re great players; no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, ‘shut up and dribble.'” Her statement earned a strong response from James, even though he said he didn't even know Ingraham's name. “I will not just shut up and dribble,” the Cleveland Cavaliers player said. “So, thank you, whatever her name is … I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids." Ingraham issued a statement that there was no racial intent behind her words and that she has used the expression telling entertainers to "Shut Up" frequently in the past.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Hillary Clinton
While speaking at the Republican National Convention, Ingraham was criticized for appearing to give the Nazi salute after her speech. She then dragged Hillary Clinton into the controversy, tweeting a collage of photos of Clinton also extending her hand in a similar fashion. "It's Hillary ... hands down!" "Duh … it’s a satiric response to the left-wing criticism of Laura’s wave last night. Desperate liberals,” Ingraham tweeted.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Paul Ryan
Back in 2015 when Paul Ryan was being considered to be Speaker of the House, he said he would accept the job on the condition that "family comes first." "I cannot and I will not give up my family time," Ryan said. Ingraham tweeted, but later deleted, a criticism saying, "like no one has ever sacrificed family time to serve the country?" "Our country is in a crisis and we need Republican leaders willing to unconditionally offer their service to the country," she added in a separate tweet.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Mika Brzezinski
Engaged hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have a habit of getting flirty on "Morning Joe," and Ingraham finds it hilarious. On Feb. 8, Sean Hannity prepared to hand off the time Ingraham when she started twirling her hair, lilting her voice and doing her best flirty Brzenzski impression. “What, what Sean, you’re always right. No you’re always right. You. Are. Always. Right. I mean, really,” Ingraham said.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Ed Schultz
Ingraham didn't start this fight. The MSNBC personality called Ingraham a "right-wing slut" on his radio show, a comment that earned him a week-long suspension from MSNBC. He apologized and called his comments "vile and inappropriate," and Ingraham accepted his apology. She even joked that Schultz used to be conservative. "We'll welcome you back with open arms," she said.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Donald Trump
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Ingraham critiqued the president for leaving much of his executive branch understaffed. “We can all look at these horrific pictures, and we can conclude that a federal government does need staff," Ingraham said. Trump, a frequent viewer of "Fox & Friends," heard Ingraham's criticism of his administration loud and clear and responded to her directly on Twitter. "We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don't need many of them — reduce size of government,” Trump tweeted.
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Host of ”The Ingraham Angle“ has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Shepard Smith
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith gave some pointed criticism to his colleagues, telling Time that he knows some of Fox's opinion shows are "strictly to be entertaining." "I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there. I don’t want to sit around and yell at each other and talk about your philosophy and my philosophy. That sounds horrible to me.” Both Sean Hannity and Ingraham took issue with Smith's comments. "Always liked Shep, but his comments were inconsiderate & inaccurate. The hard working team at the Ingraham Angle does real reporting, develops impt sources and scores big interviews. Very proud of them," she tweeted.
