News

Actions

Laura Ingraham to take week-long break from Fox News show amid controversy

Posted at 1:46 PM, Apr 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-01 13:46:07-04

Laura Ingraham will leave Fox News’s airwaves next week for a vacation.

Faced with a growing advertiser exodus, Fox News host Laura Ingraham apologized Thursday for a widely derided tweet in which she mocked Parkland survivor David Hogg.

The anchor made the announcement when she signed off her show Friday evening, which capped a week of controversy in which she saw more than a dozen advertisers flee her show.

“A blessed Good Friday and Passover to all of you,” Ingraham said. “I’ll be off next week for Easter break with my kids.”

A Fox News spokesperson said the week-long absence was pre-planned.

Advertisers bolted from “The Ingraham Angle” after the host sent a tweet earlier this week mocking David Hogg, one of the student-activists who became a voice for gun control after a shooter murdered 17 people at his high school in Florida last month.

Ingraham’s tweet included a link to a story on the right-wing news site Daily Wire that said Hogg was rejected by four colleges.

Hogg then urged his 700,000 Twitter followers to contact Ingraham’s advertisers and press them to boycott her prime-time show.

On Thursday, after at least two companies had taken action, Ingraham apologized in a series of tweets.

“On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland,” she wrote. “For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how ‘poised’ he was given the tragedy. As always he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion.”

The mea culpa did little to quell backlash. Hogg told CNN on Friday that he was unimpressed with her apology and said it was likely prompted by the loss of ad dollars.

As of Friday night, 14 companies — including the Rachael Ray-partnered dog food brand Nutrish, the travel site TripAdvisor, Office Depot and the streaming service Hulu — have said they will no longer advertise on Ingraham’s show, according to a tally on Mediaite.

Last April, dozens of companies pulled away from the “The O’Reilly Factor” when allegations of sexual harassment against host Bill O’Reilly surfaced. He left the network shortly after.