When it came to light last week that Fox News star Bill O’Reilly had paid out a total of $13 million to five women who had accused him of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior, a slew of advertisers immediately pulled their money from his show, The O’Reilly Factor.
But until Friday, at least one major national advertiser had resisted the urge to abandon O’Reilly’s cash cow of a program. And because of its decision to stay loyal to O’Reilly and the exposure he provides, Angie’s List has taken oodles of criticism on Twitter. Eventually, as the Indianapolis Star reports, Angie’s List—which crowdsources reviews of local businesses—abandoned O’Reilly, but not before, the company took plenty of bad publicity.
https://twitter.com/DavidWShannon/status/849055990238527488
Sexual harassment is not a "viewpoint." You're not spending your ad money wisely and we're paying attention!
— Robyn Ripley (@robyn_1966) April 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/JimSimonson/status/850505427192336384
Please note that Angie's List has chosen money over ethics and continues to advertise on O'Reilly's b.s. show.
— Why? (@Trumpsucksmore) April 8, 2017
Thanks @AngiesList for letting us know that we have choices. You choose to support a sexual predator. We choose to not patronize your org. https://t.co/nVZK8VSRDH
— Smarty Pants🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌊🌈🐕⚾️📚🌻🇺🇦 💉 (@KonasMama) April 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/highmountainli2/status/850712532062846977
Wow @AngiesList — a company founded by a woman — refuses to pull its @oreillyfactor ads. Please retweet this. Insulting. pic.twitter.com/UyHqTI3sh7
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 6, 2017
On Friday, though, Angie’s List relented, joining, according to Think Progress, at least 50 other national advertisers who have declined to spend their money during O’Reilly’s show.
2. The entire show featured SEVEN ads. Monday's show had over 30 ads, including scores of national brands https://t.co/k0mvHm8bJs
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 7, 2017
The O’Reilly Factor also ended 15 minutes early on Thursday without any explanation. Friday’s show apparently didn’t feature many advertisers either.
First O’Reilly break today comes 13 minutes into the show and features just 1 commercial tonight 😬 pic.twitter.com/XsCin6wlUO
— Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) April 8, 2017
Just 2 commercials for O’Reilly’s third commercial break, and not seeing any big brands out there pic.twitter.com/cYZ782sYKe
— Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) April 8, 2017
Angie’s List declined further comment to the Star, but it seems likely that the heat generated by its original decision to stay with O’Reilly probably helped pushed the company in the other direction.
H/T Death and Taxes