Seth Rogen has canceled a SiriusXM press tour scheduled for this week after the satellite radio network re-hired former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
“I was supposed to do a press tour on @SiriusXM on Tuesday, but I’m no longer doing it,” the actor tweeted. “I can’t bring myself to appear on the same service that has decided to support Steve Bannon.”
He had been slated to promote his new movie The Disaster Artist on several of the company’s shows but has opted to just skip that part of his press tour instead.
“Apologies to the shows I had to cancel,” he added. “And fuck Steve Bannon.”
I was supposed to do a press tour on @SIRIUSXM on teusday but I'm no longer doing it because I can't bring myself to appear on the same service that has decided to support Steve Bannon. Apologies to the shows I had to cancel. And fuck Steve Bannon.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) December 8, 2017
The often incendiary Bannon stepped down from his official role as White House chief strategist in August, following the departure of former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. The ethics of his return to satellite radio have been a point of contention in the media since Sirius announced his new contract last week.
Following Rogen’s cancellation, SiriusXM spokesperson Patrick Reilly released the following statement:
Since its inception, SiriusXM has promised to deliver a diversity of opinions and viewpoints, from conservative to progressive to everything in between. SiriusXM takes no political position of our own across our more than 175 channels, but we are here to provide an open forum no matter where listeners stand on the political spectrum. Free speech is vitally important. We ardently believe that by allowing a virtually unlimited platform of viewpoints, we are doing our best to uphold that core value.
Despite the company’s apparent diehard free speech stand, lots of celebrities are following suit and protesting the network along with Rogen. Over the weekend, regular Sirius contributor Melissa Etheridge and comedian John Leguizamo both tweeted their support:
After news that @SIRIUSXM has given #SteveBannon a show, I can no longer in good conscience be a part of my show @siriusxmvolume #speaktrue
— Melissa Etheridge (@metheridge) December 9, 2017
Just canceled my #SiriusXM because they hired #Bannon ! No hate mongers! #BoycottSiriusXM
— John Leguizamo (@JohnLeguizamo) December 10, 2017
Sirius customers are joining the protest too, announcing their canceled subscriptions with the hashtag #CancelSiriusXM:
https://twitter.com/AltCivilServant/status/940042451091308544
https://twitter.com/matt_a_gram/status/940132963215437824
Bannon officially returned to the network Dec. 5.