Mike Lindell, chief executive officer of My Pillow Inc., speaks to members of the media while arriving to federal court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, June 24, 2021.
Joshua Roberts | Bloomberg | Getty Images
MyPillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell said he is pulling ads from Fox News after the network said it wouldn’t take one of his commercials.
MyPillow is one of Fox News’ biggest advertisers. Lindell said he spent almost $50 million on the network last year, and about $19 million so far this year, to run his ads.
“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 spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement.
Lindell told CNBC in a phone interview that he made the decision to back out after Fox News declined to run a one-minute spot that promotes a cyber symposium, which he will be livestreaming from Aug. 10 to Aug. 12.
“I pulled all of my ads. Every one,” Lindell said. “If there are any stragglers today, it’s a fluke.”
Since the 2020 presidential election, Lindell has been claiming adamantly that there was widespread voter fraud, with votes stolen from President Donald Trump. However, security and election officials have found no proof of such activity.
Voting-machine maker Dominion Voting Systems sued Lindell and MyPillow in February for defamation. Lindell later filed a $1.6 billion countersuit.
Fox News has also been sued by Dominion. It alleges the cable news network falsely claimed Dominion’s voting machines were rigged during the 2020 presidential election in order to boost its ratings. Fox News has moved to dismiss the suit.
Lindell earlier this year said a number of retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s, stopped selling his products after he began voicing the election-fraud claims.
“We lost 40% of our business in January and February,” Lindell said. “I can’t get that back. I can only try.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the news. Fox News parent Fox Corp. and News Corp., the Journal’s parent, have common ownership.
