NEW YORK – A flower company is the seventh advertiser to pull its ads from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s radio program in reaction to his derogatory comments about a law student who testified about birth control policy.
ProFlowers said Sunday on its Facebook page that it has suspended advertising on Limbaugh’s program because his comments about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke “went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company.”
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The other advertisers that say they’ve pulled ads from his show are mortgage lender Quicken Loans, mattress retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, software maker Citrix Systems, online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.
ProFlowers, an online flower delivery service, had said on Twitter that posts it received about Limbaugh’s remarks affected its advertising strategy.
Limbaugh called the 30-year-old Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” last week after she testified to congressional Democrats in support of national health care policies that would compel employers and other organizations, including her university, to offer group health insurance that covers birth control for women.
He apologized to Fluke on Saturday after being criticized by Republican and Democratic politicians and after several advertisers left the show.
Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks Inc. hosts Limbaugh’s program, one of the country’s most popular talk radio shows. The company is supporting Limbaugh, whose on-air contract with Premiere runs through 2016.
“The contraception debate is one that sparks strong emotion and opinions on both sides of the issue,” Premiere Networks said in a statement emailed Sunday by spokeswoman Rachel Nelson. “We respect the right of Mr. Limbaugh, as well as the rights of those who disagree with him, to express those opinions.”
Clear Channel operates more than 850 U.S. radio stations, and Premiere says it’s the country’s largest radio content provider, syndicating programs to more than 5,000 affiliate stations.
When asked which companies or organizations were the largest advertisers on Limbaugh’s show, Nelson said that that data was “proprietary.” She declined to say how much revenue the company will lose with the advertiser defections or how much revenue Limbaugh’s show brings in.
Flood of snark greets Lohan’s return to ‘SNL’
Looks like the Lindsay Lohan comeback train is stuck at the station, after her roundly panned hosting gig Saturday on “Saturday Night Live.”
“This may be the first time Lindsay Lohan had trouble doing lines,” cracked the Twitter user @drunkenough, after the bad-girl starlet stumbled through sketches in which she appeared wholly reliant on cue cards — and sometimes seemed to have difficulty reading them.
“Worst host of the year?” EW.com asked in a headline.
The return gig as “SNL” host was supposed to be a professional highlight for Lohan, 25, who’s struggling to get her career back on track after her most recent round of troubles, including well-publicized substance abuse and family turmoil.
She described her recent court-ordered community service at the Los Angeles County morgue as “humbling.” Her nude photos in Playboy’s January/February issue drew widespread derision.
But despite the “SNL” blowback, Lohan may have the last laugh.
Her “SNL” comeback Saturday “delivered the show’s highest-scoring regular performance of the season,” EW.com reported Sunday.
‘The Lorax’ cleans up at the box office
LOS ANGELES – “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” raked in all kinds of green, earning $70.7 million in its first weekend to score the biggest box-office debut of the year by far.
The 3-D animated family film, featuring the voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift, is based on Seuss’ cautionary fable about the importance of preserving the environment.
“The Lorax” also scored the biggest opening for a Dr. Seuss adaptation, topping the $55.1 million that “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” made in 2000.
Before this, “The Vow” had the best debut of 2012 with $41.2 million.
— From news service reports
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