"Given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don't feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now," Mercedes-Benz said in a statement.
Carmakers Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai are pulling their advertisements from Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor after a slew of sexual harassment claims against host Bill O'Reilly were made public Saturday, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Mercedes, calling the accusations "disturbing," confirmed Monday that its ads have been "reassigned" in a statement.
"We had advertising running on The O'Reilly Factor (we run on most major cable news shows) and it has been reassigned in the midst of this controversy," a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told THR. "The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don't feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now."
Hyundai released a statement late Monday announcing it was pulling its ads from The O'Reilly Factor. In a statement to Buzzfeed, the Korean carmaker said that it was "reallocating" upcoming ads "due to recent and disturbing allegations." The company added that it sought to partner with companies that shared its "values of inclusion and diversity."
In a New York Times exposé published over the weekend, it was revealed that five women claiming to have been sexual harassed or verbally abused by the host received over $13 million in payouts from Fox News and O'Reilly to agree to keep quiet about the accusations.
O'Reilly has since denied all claims and issued the following statement Saturday: "Just like other prominent and controversial people, I'm vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity. In my more than 20 years at Fox News Channel, no one has ever filed a complaint about me with the Human Resources Department, even on the anonymous hotline."
The statement continued, "But most importantly, I'm a father who cares deeply for my children and who would do anything to avoid hurting them in any way. And so I have put to rest any controversies to spare my children."
CNNMoney first reported that Mercedes-Benz has dropped its advertising on the Fox show.
mutantmarine on April 4th, 2017 at 02:46 UTC »
What about that Mesothelioma payout if ur all fucked up?
Chronic_Apathy1 on April 3rd, 2017 at 23:59 UTC »
This is what can tank O'Reilly. It doesn't matter how many people watch his show if the brand is too toxic to air ads. And good riddance - the scumbag.
PrincePerfect on April 3rd, 2017 at 23:21 UTC »
I wasn't aware that Fox News ran any ads other than for MyPillow and silver coin "investments."