MyPillow, one of Fox News’ biggest advertisers, is pulling its commercials from the cable news behemoth.
Fox News confirmed that Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, was pausing the ads. According to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news, Lindell was canceling the ads because Fox News would not let him run a commercial that promoted claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s unfortunate Mr. Lindell has chosen to pause his commercial time on Fox News given the level of success he’s experienced in building his brand through advertising on the number one cable news network,” a Fox News spokeswoman said in a statement.
MyPillow is Fox News’ second-biggest brand advertiser so far this year, according analytics firm iSpot.tv. It has spent $40 million through July 28, according to iSpot, which accounts for 7.7% of the network’s $514.3 million haul during that time.
Lindell has faced backlash for promoting conspiracy theories surrounding election results. In January, retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, H-E-B and Wayfair dropped his products as a result.
Fox News has also come under fire regarding claims made on-air about election fraud, with voting technology companies Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems both filing lawsuits against the company. Fox News filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits.