Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham apologized to Parkland, Florida, school shooting survivor David Hogg on Thursday, a day after he called on people to boycott her advertisers because she accused him of whining.
In a tweet Wednesday that quickly went viral, Ingraham said Hogg was “rejected by four colleges to which he applied and whines about it.” Hogg called for advertisers to boycott her, and so far three — TripAdvisor, Wayfair and pet-food maker Nutrish — have dropped Ingraham.
“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,” she tweeted Thursday. “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
A rep for Fox News did not immediately response to a request for comment.
Hogg listed TripAdvisor, Wayfair and Nutrish alongside nine other companies, saying all should be boycotted if they continued to advertise with Ingraham’s show. You can read their respective statement here.
It’s unclear whether the Ingraham apology will be sufficient to stem the exodus or lure back the departed.
Pick a number 1-12 contact the company next to that #
Top Laura Ingraham Advertisers
1. @sleepnumber
2. @ATT
3. Nutrish
4. @Allstate & @esurance
5. @Bayer
6. @RocketMortgage Mortgage
7. @LibertyMutual
8. @Arbys
9. @TripAdvisor
10. @Nestle
11. @hulu
12. @Wayfair— David Hogg ☮️ (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Ingraham came under strong criticism for saying that Hogg was “whining” about his rejection by UCLA and other California-based schools. Footage of Hogg revealing his disappointment was first published by TMZ.
She tweeted that he was “dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates.”
On Thursday, she listed his GPA as a 4.2, and said any student should be proud of such a high GPA.
The original tweet remains live on Ingraham’s Twitter page.
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
Hogg also did not respond to request for comment from TheWrap, but revealed some indication of his thoughts Thursday — retweeting a comment from his sister that was sharply critical of Ingraham.
“*Waits till we boycott her advertisers to apologize* wow,” tweeted Lauren Hogg. “Hey @IngrahamAngle please just be a real journalist. Focus on the important stories and use your platform to help people not hurt them.”
*Waits till we boycott her advertisers to apologize* wow.
Hey @IngrahamAngle please just be a real journalist. Focus on the important stories and use your platform to help people not hurt them. #neveragain #ShutUpAndBeObjective #MarchForOurLives https://t.co/wZRBlHk4XS
— Lauren Hogg (@lauren_hoggs) March 29, 2018