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Dec. 18, 2018 / 5:28 AM GMT
By Tim Stelloh
Fox News host Tucker Carlson faced an escalating backlash on Monday from advertisers as they continued ditching his show over a segment about immigration.
Among the latest to bail on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the personal finance website NerdWallet, which said in a statement to NBC News that it had “pulled its advertising and will be reevaluating any ongoing advertising on this program.”
A spokeswoman confirmed the company abandoned the show after a monologue Thursday about economics and immigration in which Carlson said the United States needs more “scientists and skilled engineers” for increasingly automated and tech-centered jobs.
“Instead we’re getting waves of people with high school educations or less,” he said. “Nice people, no one doubts that, but as an economic matter this is insane. It’s indefensible, so no one even tries to defend it. Instead our leaders demand that you shut up and accept this. We have a moral obligation to admit the world’s poor, they tell us, even if it makes our country poorer and dirtier and more divided.”
On Friday, one of the show’s advertisers, Pacific Life Insurance Company, said that it “strongly disagree[d]” with his comments.
“Our customer base and our workforce reflect the diversity of our great nation, something we take great pride in,” the statement said. “We will not be advertising on Mr. Carlson’s show in the coming weeks as we reevaluate our relationship with his program.”
A spokeswoman with SmileDirectClub, which makes teeth straighteners, said the company is “actively working with our media buyers to confirm that SmileDirectClub is no longer running our ads around any political opinion shows.”
The spokeswoman, Shara Siegel, declined to say if the departure was over Thursday’s show.
The fitness equipment maker Nautilus also bailed on the show, according to a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As activists continued to call out other companies that advertise on the show, Carlson said Monday that he wouldn’t be “silenced” by what he called a “well-worn” tactic of the left.
“It won’t work with this show,” he said.