Following in the footsteps of many major businesses, including Toyota, Geico, and McDonald’s, UPS denounced Rush Limbaugh’s misogynistic rhetoric by pulling their ads from the Rush Limbaugh radio show on July 3rd. Huffington Post reports that UPS received a number of complaints on Twitter about the appearance of their ads on his show. The total number of advertisers who have removed their programing from the show is now over 150.
Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, celebrated the advertiser’s efforts to force right-wing hosts to take responsibility for their attacks on women’s rights. Smeal stated, “The cooling off period won’t work. Misogyny is not ok.”
The Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women (NOW), and a whole host of women’s groups together with Think Progress and Media Matters have rallied in support of Sandra Fluke since the attacks against her earlier this year. For the last five months, tens of thousands of supporters of women’s healthcare have bombarded advertisers with emails and phone calls, urging the cancellation of ads and to support Sandra Fluke. The addition of UPS to this list months after the initial attack shows how powerful the movement continues to be. The internet is still on fire with thousands of supporters tweeting, blogging, and Facebook-ing in support of campaigns to #FlushRushNow.
Media Resources: Huffington Post 7/9/12; Think Progress 7/9/12; Feminist Daily Newswire 3/13/12