NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images Fox News host Sean Hannity is seen in the White House briefing room in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2017.
Sean Hannity fans created the hashtag #BoycottKeurig to pressure the coffee machine company after it pulled advertising from Hannity’s show on Fox News when the host did not condemn Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl.
Some people said they were urging a boycott of Keurig because of its Hannity decision, but some Hannity and Moore opponents quickly seized the hashtag to announce they would buy Keurig machines.
Keurig isn’t the only company pulling ads from Hannity’s show in protest, though. “We worked with our media partner and Fox news to stop our ad from airing during the Sean Hannity Show,” Keurig wrote on Twitter. According to The Wrap, on November 10, “Keurig and Realtor.com announced on Twitter that they would stop advertising on Hannity’s shows after complaints about the host’s defense of embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.”
Realtor.com made a similar announcement on Twitter, writing, “While we continually strategize on where we advertise on and offline, we are not currently, and will not be running TV ads on Hannity.” Eloquii, a fashion line for plus-size women, joined suit, writing on Twitter, “Hi there! Hannity is blocked from our advertising list. If we can help with anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at social@eloquii.com.” The Wrap noted that Keurig was responding to a tweet from the liberal Media Matters, which has targeted Hannity’s advertisers before.
GettyRepublican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, Roy Moore speaks to supporters at an election-night rally on September 26 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Hannity has declined to condemn Moore for what he says are unproven allegations. “Every single person in this country deserves the presumption of innocence,” Hannity said on the air on November 9. “With the allegations against Judge Moore, none of us know the truth of what happened 38 years ago. The only people that would know are the people involved in this incident.” The women had come forward in a Washington Post exclusive with stories of overtures and kisses and dates with the 32-year-old Moore when they were teenagers. Specifically, Moore, was accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old prosecutor in 1979. Three other women also alleged overtures or dates with Moore when they were teens (ages 16, 17, and 18) in The Washington Post expose. The age of consent was 16 in Alabama.
According to IndyStar, “Hannity then had Moore as a guest on his Friday radio show, and during that show, Moore said he didn’t know one of the women who came forward. He went on to say he knew two other women named in the story, but said dating teenagers was ‘not my customary behavior’ at the time.” Moore also told Hannity: “I’m not going to dispute anything, but I don’t remember anything like that. “I don’t remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother.”
Here are the original tweets from those brands. A man wrote Keurig, “Good afternoon @Keurig. You are currently sponsoring Sean Hannity’s show. He defends child molester Roy Moore and attacks women who speak out against sexual harassment. Please reconsider.” The company responded:
@GoAngelo Angelo, thank you for your concern and for bringing this to our attention. We worked with our media partner and FOX news to stop our ad from airing during the Sean Hannity Show.
Realtor.com and Eloquii announced the same.
https://twitter.com/realtordotcom/status/929422915111661568
@poetic_medic @seanhannity @FireHannity @FactsOnFox @rejecthannity Hi there! Hannity is blocked from our advertising list. If we can help with anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:social@eloquii.com”>social@eloquii.com.
Here are some of the comments from people using the #Boycott Keurig hashtag:
Go and look to see who is screaming about #BoycottKeurig and then tell me if you would want them supporting your product.
Keurig made the choice by pulling their advertising from Hannity and they are never going to flip flop on this decision.
Good luck trolls.
https://twitter.com/GigiTracyXO/status/929707002695122944
I saw #BoycottKeurig on my timeline got kind of nervous that would have to give up my favorite coffee maker so i looked up why and it’s cause they dropped Sean Hannity…I buying five of those joints for Christmas
Looks like my wife is switching from a Nestle machine to a @Keurig for Christmas. Bravo. We must speak out with our wallets. Do not #BoycottKeurig
I will be buying a Keurig this afternoon. #BoycottKeurig
Don’t #BoycottKeurig, they pulled their ads from Hannity & deserve to be celebrated for it. @Keurig