A representative for Mercedes-Benz on Monday confirmed that it has pulled its advertisements from Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show amid controversy over newly unearthed sexual-harassment allegations against him. In a statement to CNN’s Tom Kludt, the luxury automaker wrote that while it had previous advertised during The O’Reilly Factor—cable news’s most popular program—they have decided to “reassign” the ads. “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.” While it was previously known that O’Reilly had settled multiple sexual-harassment cases throughout his long career at Fox News, the New York Times over the weekend reported on three more cases—including two the blustery primetime host settled after ex-CEO Roger Ailes was fired from the network over his own serial sexual-harassment accusations.
Jenny Craig, which also advertised during last Friday's O'Reilly Factor indicated that the company is consider pulling their ads. "As an organization, Jenny Craig condemns any and all forms of sexual harassment," a spokesperson for Jenny Craig told The Daily Beast. "As a matter of corporate policy, we do not publicly comment on our advertising strategy. What I can tell you is that we are constantly evaluating our media buys to maximize the efficiency of our corporate investment and effectively reach our target audience."
Lexus, another O'Reilly advertiser issued a similar statement. "The Lexus ads appearing on the O'Reilly Factor are part of a wide ranging media package, with ads appearing on a variety of cable television programs," a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "We take our duties as a responsible advertiser seriously, and seek to partner with organizations who share our company culture and philosophy of respect for all people. We will continue to monitor the situation and will take any appropriate action through our media buying partners."
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