All day Thursday, Laura Ingraham weathered an advertiser exodus spearheaded by Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. But you wouldn’t have known it from watching Thursday’s episode of her Fox News show.
Ingraham, who was roundly criticized for publicly mocking Hogg after he was rejected by several California colleges, didn’t address the boycott that, as of her airtime, saw at least eight advertisers cut ties. She also didn’t follow up on the apology she tweeted out earlier in the day.
Instead, she focused on illegal immigration, funding for the border wall and the departure of former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin.
The confrontation began Wednesday when Ingraham tweeted an article about Hogg’s rejection by UCLA and other schools, adding she thinks he “whines” about it. Ingraham was widely criticized for the joke, and later in the day Hogg called on his followers to boycott 12 of her sponsors.
On Thursday morning, after three advertisers bolted, Ingraham attempted to mitigate the situation with an apology. “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.
“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,” she continued. “As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion.”
Hogg later tweeted that “She only apologized after we went after her advertisers. It kind of speaks for itself.”
So far, Hulu, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Nutrish, Expedia, Stitch Fix, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle have all quit as sponsors.
But not all advertisers joined the boycott. Ingraham’s Thursday show featured ads by the movie “Chappaquiddick,” America’s Petroleum Institute, Gillette, Varidesk, the Shen Yun dance company, Miracle-Ear, Jenny Craig, Sleep Number, WeatherTech, HomeAdvisor, Office Depot, Sandals Resorts International and subsidiary Beaches.com, The San Diego Zoo, Belfor Group and National Geographic.
It wasn’t all silence on the Parkland front, however. Ingraham did mention the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting one time — during a segment on women who have supposedly flooded the shooter with fan mail.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Representatives for Thursday’s advertisers also did not immediately respond for comment about the boycott.
5 Times Parkland Shooting Survivors Were Falsely Criticized (Photos)
As the high school students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, have increasingly pushed for change around gun control -- most recently in the March for Our Lives events around the country -- they've become the victims of attacks and conspiracy theories by those who wish to discredit them and their cause. Some of the most vocal figureheads of the movement, David Hogg, 17, and Emma Gonzalez, 18, have largely been the targets of these critiques. These five claims have been debunked as false, but it hasn't stopped them from widely circulating on social media.
David Hogg is NOT a "crisis actor"
On Feb. 21, a video claiming that David Hogg was a "crisis actor" briefly became the No. 1 Trending video on YouTube. The video included an old clip of Hogg being interviewed by a Los Angeles CBS affiliate, and it was falsely used as evidence that Hogg did not attend Stoneman Douglas as a student but was an actor. YouTube pulled the video later that day, but not before it received over 200,000 views. A separate meme also claimed that Hogg had attended and graduated from a high school in southern California. And other right-wing writers even claimed that Hogg's media appearances were suspect because his father previously worked for the FBI. Hogg explicitly denied these conspiracy theories.
YouTube
David Hogg WAS on campus at the time of the shooting
An article by Sara Rumpf in RedState questioned whether Hogg was on campus during the shooting. Rumpf noted that Hogg's comments in a CBS documentary and his quotes from a Vox article contradicted each other and called into question whether he was actually on campus. Hogg was on campus during the shooting and then returned several hours later with a camera to interview students. Rumpf later recanted the original report and apologized, but conservative media host Erick Erickson had latched onto the original story and stood by his criticism calling Hogg "a bully."
YouTube
Emma Gonzalez did NOT tear up a copy of the Constitution
An animated GIF went viral showing Emma Gonzalez tearing up a copy of the U.S. Constitution. But the image, which was tweeted out by the Twitter feed "Gab" and later by actor Adam Baldwin, was doctored. The original image came from a video from a Teen Vogue photoshoot in which Gonzalez tears up a firing range target.
Teen Vogue Twitter
Emma Gonzalez did NOT "bully" the Parkland shooter
Two conservative blogs, LouderwithCrowder.com and The American Spectator, posted an abbreviated clip of Emma Gonzalez's remarks at a rally on Feb. 17, claiming that they were "a startling admission" that Gonzalez and others had bullied shooter Nikolas Cruz. "Those talking about how we should have not ostracized him? You didn’t know this kid! OK? We did," Gonzalez said. But in context, Gonzalez was referring to the fact that school officials were alerted to Cruz's behavior and mental instability. Another student, Isabelle Robinson, wrote a New York Times op-ed responding to the idea that students needed to be nicer to Cruz. "The idea that we are to blame, even implicitly, for the murders of our friends and teachers is a slap in the face to all Stoneman Douglas victims and survivors."
CNN
David Hogg did NOT give the Nazi salute
Following his speech at the March for Our Lives rally, an image circulated juxtaposing David Hogg with his arm and fist outstretched with an image of Hitler giving the Nazi salute. "All in favor of gun control, raise your right arm," the meme reads. Several on social media also drew the comparison, but video shows that Hogg extended his closed fist into the air rather than an open palm facing downward.
Getty Images
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Students David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez have been the subject of conspiracy theories, misinformation and doctored images
As the high school students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, have increasingly pushed for change around gun control -- most recently in the March for Our Lives events around the country -- they've become the victims of attacks and conspiracy theories by those who wish to discredit them and their cause. Some of the most vocal figureheads of the movement, David Hogg, 17, and Emma Gonzalez, 18, have largely been the targets of these critiques. These five claims have been debunked as false, but it hasn't stopped them from widely circulating on social media.
YouTube
