These days, advertisers aren't in the market to play games with their brand's image. Should a client proceed to step onto the wrong side of history, many companies have reasoned that it's become safer to drop first and ask questions later. It's a reality that Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come to understand first-hand time and time again, in this instance following his recent crusade against Black Lives Matter.
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By now it's no secret that Carlson holds no love for the organization, nor the goals they seek to achieve. In recent episodes of his admittedly popular Fox News shows, Carlson has made disparaging comments against Black Lives Matter, going so far as to aim his sights on Sesame Streets -- focused political ire aimed at a gaggle of muppets.
Seeing as we're in the midst of what feels like a systemic revolution, thanks in large part to protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism, many companies have opted to offer their support to the movement. As Tucker Carlson has maintained a firm stance against BLM and everything they stand for, several of his advertisers have recently made the decision to cut ties with the Fox News Host. According to Deadline, Disney, T-Mobile, Papa Johns, Vari, and SmileDirectClub are five of the latest to walk away from FOX News.
On the topic of Disney, the mega-corporation claimed that its ads were mistakenly run on FOX due to a third-party error. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert took to Twitter to maintain that his values did not align with the controversial host, and put it rather succinctly with a "bye bye Tucker Carlson!" Papa Johns issued a similar statement, writing " 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."
As of now, Fox News has yet to comment on the mass exodus of advertisers. One has to wonder if Tucker Carlson has a stern talking to in his future.
Tucker Carlson At It Again, This Time Targets Elmo’s Anti-Racism Advocacy
Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson airs his grievances concerning the educational Standing Up to Racism Sesame Street skit.
Last Saturday, Elmo provided some insight on the Black Lives Matter movement with the Sesame Streeteducational special titled Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism. “Racism is when people treat other people unfairly because of the way they look or the color of their skin. Not all streets are like Sesame Street. On Sesame Street, we all love and respect one another. Across the country, people of color, especially in the black community, are being treated unfairly because of how they look, their culture, race and who they are,” explained Elmo’s father, Louie. “They are sad and upset, and they have every right to be, Elmo. People are upset because racism is a huge problem in our country,” he continued.
Tucker Carlson played the skit and expressed his outrage at the fictional character on Fox News. “It’s a children’s show,” said Tucker. “Got that, Bobby? America is a very bad place and it’s your fault, so no matter what happens, no matter what they do to you when you grow up, you have no right to complain. That’s the message and it starts very young.”
“Everyone in the streets combating racism has Tucker “Chicken Heir” Carlson so mad he’s accusing Elmo of being Antifa ,” said U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in response to Carlson’s Fox News rant.
Carlson voiced his opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement during his news segment the day before as well: “This may be a lot of things, this moment we are living through, but it is definitely not about black lives and remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will.”
Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Labeled Racist After "It’s Not About Black Lives" Remark
Fox News host Tucker Carlson is facing backlash in response to his criticisms of Black Lives Matter and the recent George Floyd protests.
Tucker Carlson is currently facing a storm of online backlash stemming from comments he recently made about the Black Lives Matter movement and recent protests. During his primetime Fox News segment last night, Carlson questioned the intentions of protests against policebrutality and George Floyd’s death, declaring “This may be about a lot of things… but it is definitely not about black lives.” He also warned his audience to “Remember that when they come for you," adding "at this rate, they will.”
While some conservative commentators applauded Carlson, many others harshly condemned him, causing #tuckercarlsonisaracist to trend on twitter as users pleaded advertisers to stop sponsoring his segment. The public has been most up in arms about Carlson’s “when they come for you” warning, believing that Carlson was referring to black people specifically when referencing “they.”
Although some seem to be shocked by Carlson’s words, other twitter users say they are less surprised and that they have always known the host to be a racist.
Meanwhile, Carlson and his supporters insist that the words causing outrage were taken out of context by those looking to cause controversy. A Fox News spokesman told the Washington Post: “Tucker’s warning about ‘when they come for you’ was clearly referring to Democratic leaders and inner city politicians,” while Carlson defended himself saying “You’re not allowed to question Black Lives Matter in any way. Full stop…That rule has been enforced without mercy everywhere.”
Let us know your thoughts on Tucker Carlson and his recent remarks in the comments below.
Kehlani, Lil Nas X, & More React To Fox News Calling Them Out
Kehlani, Lil Nas X, and more reacted to Fox News' Tucker Carlson naming them amongst other celebrities who donated to bail funds for jailed protesters.
While many are donating to bail funds across the nation to help protestors who've been arrested while fighting for justice, others are taking the time to list off all these celebrities who donated just to call them out for supposedly doing something wrong. Fox News' Tucker Carlson hopped on the airwaves with this sort of compiled list of celebrities in an attempt to seemingly "out" them for helping "rioters and looters."
After naming off companies that have donated to Black Lives Matter, he indicates that “it isn’t just major corporations that are fuelling all of this—celebrities are too, by paying to get violent rioters out of jail.” He then begins naming some of the famous folks who have given money to help bail out protesters, convincing himself that this is a bad thing.
Kehlani appears on the screen fairly early on, which the singer herself managed to capture and post on Instagram. “Finna sign this n send it to my granny,” she wrote. “#F*ckFoxNews.”
While Kehlani was proud of her inclusion in this list, Lil Nas had a bit of a different reaction, mostly because Tucker insinuated that he specifically had “helped incite” riots.
"This man just lied and told millions of people on national television that i was inciting riots," Lil Nas tweeted. "You can’t make this up." Seth Rogen was also among the celebrities that Tucker thought he was shaming for donating to a worthy cause, but the comedian's reacted similarly to Kehlani. "I think when white supremacists are bothered by your actions, that’s probably a good thing," Seth wrote in the replies of a tweet that had shared the clip and said, "Tucker Carlson thinks he’s outing celebrities."
