Politics make strange bedfellows — and this dramatic pair has plenty of pillows.
MyPillow founder and rabid conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell ended his two-month tiff with Fox News Thursday with a one-minute commercial that aired on the midday program “America Reports,” according to The Daily Beast.
In his new spot, Lindell steers clear of the sort of election fraud rhetoric that has him and Fox News in the crosshairs of billion-dollar lawsuits and addressed the topic of “cancel culture.”
“Hello, I’m Mike Lindell,” the mustachioed salesman said. “Cancel culture has not only affected myself and MyPillow, but millions of you out there.”
Cancel culture — the process of being shunned because of some sort of scandal — is a popular topic on Fox News. Lindell used his new ad to promote a book he’s written as well as his pillow brand.
To thank viewers for their ongoing support, Lindell offers “some of the best prices ever on MyPillow products,” featuring a sales package that includes his new tome and a set of Bible-themed pillows that he says normally sells for $219, but can now be yours for the bargain price of $99.98.
Lindell claimed in July that his break from Fox News was the result of the right-wing cable channel’s refusal to promote his “Cyber Symposium.” The 60-year-old Minnesotan used that event to continue his fruitless campaign to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Shame on Fox News!” he told The Daily Beast over the summer. “When I was told they wouldn’t run the ad, I said to cut off advertising on Fox immediately and indefinitely.”
During that interview, the My Pillow Guy blasted Fox News for “being a part of the cancel culture” and swore he was “done with them.”
Fox News didn’t seem overly concerned with his claim, calling it “unfortunate” that Lindell had decided to “pause his commercial time” on the network. After a brief dalliance with off-brand right-wing media outlets more receptive to his baseless Election Day conspiracy theories, Lindell returned to Fox News, where he was welcomed home.
In July, Lindell told The Wall Street Journal, a Rupert Murdoch property like Fox News, that he’d spent $50 million advertising with the popular conservative cable network in 2020. He is believed to be one of Fox News’s biggest boosters.
Shortly after Lindell announced he was taking a break from Fox News, watchdog group Media Matters strung together a series of video clips showing various pundits on the channel shamelessly praising the Lindell on his successes. That included a snippet of prime time star Tucker Carlson calling Lindell “probably the most famous face on Fox News.”
Lindell’s arrangement with Fox is no one-sided affair. Lindell claims he was losing $1 million per week during his separation from the ratings giant.
———