Laura Ingraham is back, and now she’s claiming that liberals are attacking free speech
On March 29th, Fox News host Laura Ingraham rocketed to notoriety when she publicly insulted Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg for being rejected from four colleges. Hogg retaliated by asking sponsors her show, The Ingraham Angle, to withdraw their support. And now, after an apology and a week-long hiatus, Ingraham is back on TV, and she is using her platform to claim that the left is attacking free speech.
April 9th was Ingraham’s first show after she returned from a vacation with her children. And on her first day back, the host included a new segment called “Defending the First,” which she said would “expose the enemies of the First Amendment.” Although she didn’t mention Hogg by name, she referenced boycotts in her claim that conservatives’ free speech was under attack from the left. Ingraham also mentioned The Atlantic‘s recent firing of conservative writer Kevin Williamson. She concluded by calling public outcry over offensive statements “Stalinist.”
"Their efforts are Stalinist, pure and simple," Ingraham said on the show. "Their objective is a total transformation of American society not through rational discourse and open debate, but through demonization and silencing."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGj2b0v_Aqc?feature=oembed
The Ingraham Angle has been facing backlash since Ingraham’s tweet insulting Hogg. The Parkland student himself incited the boycott of the show, tweeting a list of Ingraham’s sponsors and encouraged his followers to contact them after Ingraham insulted him. As advertisers began to leave Ingraham‘s show, the pundit issued an apology on Twitter in the “spirit of Holy Week.”
David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates.) https://t.co/wflA4hWHXY
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 28, 2018
We are in the process of removing our ads from Laura Ingraham’s program.
— Nutrish (@Nutrish) March 29, 2018
Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. 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. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David…(1/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
… immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how "poised" he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
CNN reported that, since the boycott began, the ad time on Ingraham’s show has been cut in half. According to the news network, at least 12 of Ingraham’s sponsors have withdrawn their support amid the controversy.
Ingraham is correct that she and other conservatives have the right to voice their opinions. But so do liberals who oppose them — and that includes private companies boycotting Ingraham for insulting Hogg. We’ll be keeping our eyes out for any updates on the boycott of Ingraham’s show.
