Papa John's is the latest brand to abandon Tucker Carlson after his Black Lives Matter comments on Fox News.
This isn't the first time that Fox News personalities have been the subject of advertiser boycotts.
Left-wing groups have been accused of organizing against Fox News personalities by pressuring advertisers to withdraw their ad money.
If enough advertisers pull-out, the show is unprofitable and is thereby "canceled."
Aside from Papa John's, companies such as T-Mobile and Disney have also pulled their advertising from Tucker Carlson.
It's important to note that many of these companies are still advertising on other Fox News programs, but specifically avoiding Carlson's primetime show.
So what did Carlson say that was so controversial?
On Monday, Tucker Carlson appeared to suggest that the riots and looting were "definitely not about black lives."
Many conservatives agree.
But advertisers appear fine to abandon half the country in order to seemingly virtue signal to the left.
See the "offensive" monologue that sparked the backlash below:
Conservatives have been warning about this for years.
Most people did not find Tucker Carlson's comments offensive... or wrong for that matter.
It is well documented that many of the rioters or looters are from out of town or associated with antifa.
By all objective measures, it sounds like these are people who wanted to agitate or take advantage of a bad situation.
Yet it appears that far left groups have successfully pressured advertisers into pulling their funds from Carlson's show.
Conservatives argue that this is a direct attack on freedom of speech.
The Courier Journal confirms that Papa John's has withdrawn its ads:
Papa John' has pulled its advertisements from "Tucker Carlson Tonight" after the host recently insulted Black Lives Matters protesters.
On Monday, the conservative Fox News political commentator said recent protests that have taken place across the country regarding police violence and racial inequities "encourage theft and mayhem."
"This may be a lot of things, this moment we are living through, but it is definitely not about black lives," Carlson said on his show. "And remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will."
A Fox News spokesperson offered a clarification on Carlson's comments to The Washington Post on Tuesday.
“Tucker’s warning about ‘when they come for you’ was clearly referring to Democratic leaders and inner city politicians,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
In response to these comments, several major companies cut their advertisements from the show. Papa John's, which is based in Louisville, confirmed to The Courier Journal that it has cut ties with the show and all "opinion-based programming."
“Papa John’s media spend is designed to reach a wide range of potential, new and existing consumers across platforms," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "Placement of advertising is not intended to be an endorsement of any specific programming or commentary. We have decided to suspend all resources allocated against opinion-based programming.”
But while brands are abandoning conservative media, they appear likely to continue supporting outlets that have been accused of stoking the riots and looting... or at least, of defending their behavior.
The media, for example, criticized protests for opening the economy as a risk to health.
But the George Floyd protests were deemed more important than slowing the spread of COVID-19.
But it's not just Papa John's.
Newsweek has more details on the brands abandoning Tucker Carlson after the far left backlash:
T-Mobile's CEO has said the company will no longer advertise on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show following the host's controversial views on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Disney and Papa John's are among the other companies that have pulled their advertisements from the Fox News program, Tucker Carlson Tonight.The backlash comes following the hosts' Monday night monologue about the George Floyd protests which he declared were "definitely not about black lives."
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, responding to a Twitter user asking if the telecom company supported Carlson's message, wrote back: "It definitely is not. Bye-bye Tucker Carlson! #BlackLivesMatter."A tweet from the company's official account echoed the sentiment: "Of course. We haven't run ads on Tucker Carlson Tonight since early May and have cancelled all future placements. We will continue to support those who stand against racial injustice."
Context is everything.
When watching Carlson's monologue, it's clear that he wanted to make this a better country for ALL Americans.
Unnecessary and over-hyped "cancel culture" must stop!
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