Laura Ingraham controversy
David Hogg, a senior who survived the Parkland shooting on February 14, has become well known since the tragedy due to his leadership role in anti-gun movements. However, more recently, his name has been thrown around for other reasons.
FOX host Laura Ingraham made a problematic tweet about the teen, which has caused controversy and extreme backlash.
“David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it,” Ingraham wrote. “(Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA… totally predictable given acceptance rates.)”
This tweet was likely caused by the recent news coverage about Hogg’s college acceptance letters, GPA and SAT score. He was rejected by University of California, San Diego, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California Irvine and the aforementioned University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His GPA was a 4.2 and his SAT score a 1270.
However, when Hogg saw this tweet, he didn’t hesitate to act. He asked his 748,000 Twitter followers to choose from a list of the top Laura Ingraham advertisers and contact them about the dispute. Since that tweet, Ingraham has lost twenty advertisers, with Allstate Insurance being the most recent. Among those twenty also include Hulu, Honda, Johnson & Johnson and Office Depot.
As this was all happening, Ingraham left FOX for a week for a spring vacation with her family. She sent out an apology on Twitter at the beginning of the uproar.
““Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA — incl. @DavidHogg111,” Ingraham wrote. “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.”
Despite the apology, Hogg still hasn’t forgiven the news host, instead calling her a “bully” during a CNN interview.
“It’s disturbing to know that somebody can bully so many people and just get away with it, especially to the level that she did,” Hogg said. “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.”
Throughout the entire storm, FOX has stood with Ingraham.
“We cannot and will not allow voices to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts,” co-president of Fox News Jack Abernethy said.
Ingraham returned to her show once again on April 9.