Arts & Entertainment

Fox News Defends Laura Ingraham Over David Hogg Comment, Denouncing Advertising Boycott as ‘Intimidation Efforts’

By Natasha Bach

Dozens of advertisers may have dropped Fox News’ Laura Ingraham over her mockery of Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg, but the network is standing by her side.

In a statement released Monday, Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy said, “We cannot and will not allow voices to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts. We look forward to having Laura Ingraham back hosting her program next Monday when she returns from spring vacation with her children.”

Ingraham and Fox News had previously noted that the vacation was preplanned, seeking to quell rumors that Ingraham’s absence was in response to last week’s earlier controversy with Hogg.

The host came under fire after ridiculing Hogg for being rejected from four colleges to which he applied. In response, Hogg called on his more than 500,000 Twitter followers to help start an advertising boycott of Ingraham’s show.

The call to action worked to some extent, with more than a dozen advertisers distancing themselves from the show, including Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual, Expedia, Trip Advisor, Nestle, Hulu, and Office Depot.

Ingraham eventually backpedaled from her earlier remarks, tweeting on Thursday that “any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA” including David Hogg.

But Hogg rejected her apology on CNN on Saturday, telling the network that “no matter who somebody is, no matter how big or powerful they may seem, a bully is a bully, and it’s important that you stand up to them.”