Home improvement giant Lowe’s continues to field criticism from activists and some politicians after pulling its ads from a reality TV show featuring American Muslims.
Lowe’s decided to stop advertising on the show “All-American Muslim,” on the TLC cable network, following complaints by the Florida Family Association, a conservative Christian group.
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The decision sparked immediate backlash. California state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, called the move “bigoted, shameful and un-American.”
On social media website Twitter, actor Kal Penn began directing people to a petition on signon.org in support of the show. By Monday night, there were about 16,000 signatures.
Lowe’s spokeswoman Karen Cobb said the North Carolina company was committed to diversity and pulled the ads only after the show became “a lightning rod for people to voice complaints.”
“All-American Muslim” follows the daily lives of five Muslim families in Dearborn, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. Cast members discuss how their faith affects their actions and choices.
Lowe’s stopped its ads after the Florida Family Association emailed companies to ask them to do so. The group said the program is “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.” The group didn’t reply to an email Monday seeking comment on the reaction to its effort.
According to the Tampa-based Florida Family Association, more than 60 companies that it emailed, from Amazon to McDonalds, pulled their ads. So far, Lowe’s is the only major company to confirm that it pulled commercials from the show.
Laurie Goldberg, a spokeswoman for TLC, declined to comment on whether any companies besides Lowe’s had pulled their ads. “The show has strong advertising support,” she wrote in an email.
Lieu, the state senator, said he would consider urging a boycott and drafting a legislative resolution denouncing Lowe’s actions.
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who is Muslim, released a statement Monday condemning Lowe’s for choosing “to uphold the beliefs of a fringe hate group and not the creed of the First Amendment.”
Record executive dies after Hollywood street rampage
LOS ANGELES – A music executive died Monday after being shot last week by a rampaging gunman in the heart of Hollywood, a hospital spokeswoman said.
John Atterberry, 40, who had worked with the Spice Girls, Jessica Simpson and others, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, spokeswoman Simi Singer said.
Atterberry was shot in the face and upper body as he drove his Mercedes-Benz during Friday’s random attack.
Atterberry was the only seriously injured victim of Tyler Brehm, 26, who police say fired nearly 20 bullets in the air and at cars as he screamed that he wanted to die. He was killed by police minutes later.
Brehm’s ex-girlfriend has said that she and Brehm had recently broken up. But police said they’re still looking for a motive for the attack.
Billy Joel portrait joins classical crowd
NEW YORK – The Piano Man is now officially a Steinway man. A Billy Joel portrait has been unveiled in New York City at Steinway Hall, home to the famed piano maker Steinway & Sons.
Joel, 62, is one of only two living artists included in a collection featuring greats such as Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. He’s the only nonclassical performer.
The pop legend joked Monday about his painting’s proximity to Vladimir Horowitz’s, saying he doesn’t know “how crazy” Horowitz is about having him that close.
Joel’s painting features him standing in a leather jacket, with a Steinway in the foreground.
Joel says he wore the jacket for years, but his girlfriend recently dismissed it as a 1980s relic.
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