*The exodus from the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show continued on Monday night, with a second station and three more advertisers jumping ship in the wake of his comments regarding Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke, whom he called a “slut” and “prostitute” last week for advocating insurance coverage of contraceptives.
Pittsfield, Massachusett’s WBEC 96.9 FM announced that it would no longer air Limbaugh’s program, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The nature of Rush’s programming has always presented challenges for us and he’s always pushed the envelope. But this time he’s taken it too far,” the station’s general manager, Peter Barry, said in a statement. Earlier on Monday, Hilo, Hawaii’s KPUA pulled Limbaugh’s show, with its general manager calling Limbaugh’s comments “degrading” and “egregious.”
KPUA in Hilo, Hawaii was the first station to drop Limbaugh’s show.
“We are strong believers in the First Amendment and have recognized Mr. Limbaugh’s right to express opinions that oftentimes differ from our own, but it has never been our goal to allow our station to be used for personal attacks and intolerance,” the station said in a statement released Monday. “Regardless of one’s political views on the issue being discussed, we feel the delivery was degrading and the continued comments over several days to be egregious. As a result, we are discontinuing the Rush Limbaugh program on KPUA effective immediately.”
After AOL, Tax Resolutions and AllState removed their advertising from Limbaugh’s show earlier on Monday, Sensa Weight Loss, makeup company Bare Escentuals and healthy living company Vitacost announced on their respective Twitter feeds that they had canceled their orders, as well.
Bill O'Reilly
Earlier in the evening, fellow conservative host Bill O’Reilly called Fluke “the center of the campaign to re-elect Barack Obama,” and a “committed leftist,” while slamming a so-called liberal media that he claimed was “demonizing conservative guys who are going after” Fluke.
On the other side of the dial, Don Imus said that Limbaugh should have flown to meet Fluke and apologize face-to-face, but instead gave an on-air apology that proved he was “an insincere pig” and a “pill-popping pinhead.
As previously reported, Fluke appeared on ABC’s “The View” on Monday morning, where she said that that Limbaugh’s apology “doesn’t change anything” and that she’d rather not receive a personal phone call from the host.
Peter Gabriel attends the UK Premiere of "John Carter" held at BFI Southbank in London, England. (March 1, 2012)
Also taking action against Limbaugh is singer Peter Gabriel, whose song “Sledgehammer” was playing in the background when the talk show host made his disparaging comments.
A spokesperson for Gabriel released the following statement:
“Peter was appalled to learn that his music was linked to Rush Limbaugh’s extraordinary attack on Sandra Fluke. It is obvious from anyone that knows Peter’s work that he would never approve such a use. He has asked his representatives to make sure his music is withdrawn and especially from these unfair aggressive and ignorant comments.”
