Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is under fire from the Hollywood elite, with A-list director Judd Apatow calling for an advertiser boycott of his prime-time show on Fox News.
Insurance company Pacific Life pulled ads from Tucker Carlson Tonight Friday after the host made remarks critical of U.S. immigration policy.
“We have a moral obligation to admit the world’s poor, they tell us, even if it makes our own country poorer, and dirtier, and more divided. Immigration is a form of atonement. Previous leaders of our country committed sins; we must pay for those sins by welcoming an endless chain of migrant caravans,” Carlson said in part.
The company said in a statement that they will need to “reevaluate” their “relationship” with his show after his remarks.
Director Judd Apatow, who helped launch the career of Lena Dunham, seemingly took the Pacific Life decision as inspiration to promote further ad boycotts, making a number of social media posts calling for other companies to pull ads.
“Hey pfizer – what does it say about your company and your moral positions if you advertise on tuckercarlson’s show? He and FoxNews get rich off of dividing our country and spewing lies and hate at immigrant communities who are just trying to survive. Maybe choose another show,” the 51-year-old said.
The producer behind Hollywood hits like Knocked Up, Step Brothers, and the Amy Schumer-fronted Trainwreck, also targeted Japanese car company Subaru, saying, “Hey subaru_usa – why would you continue to advertise on TuckerCarlson’s show when he spews so much racism and hate? How does that reflect the values of your company? There must be other shows you can advertise on which are not destructive to our country.”
In another post Sunday, Apatow exclaimed, “ANYONE WHO ADVERTISES ON THIS SHOW APPROVES OF HIS HATE.”
Apatow also used the Murdoch family — Ruport Murdoch is the founder, chairman, and CEO of New Corporation, which owns Fox News — to slam Carlson over his immigration comments.
Not all advertisers are moved by this, however. Jeremy Barr of The Hollywood Reporterposted a statement from Farmers Insurance where they declined to pull ads Friday.
Boycotts like these are routinely used to silence and defund conservatives. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham also faced an advertiser boycott campaign led by far-left anti-gun activist David Hogg earlier this year.
Breitbart News has also been the target of a social media campaign from left-wing activist Sleeping Giants meant to pressure companies to stop advertising on the website.
***Update***
A Fox News spokesperson responded to continued boycott calls, saying: “It is a shame that left wing advocacy groups, under the guise of being supposed ‘media watchdogs’ weaponize social media against companies in an effort to stifle free speech. We continue to stand by and work with our advertisers through these unfortunate and unnecessary distractions.”