Rush Limbaugh loses a Sacramento advertiser
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A Sacramento-area mattress company tied to Rush Limbaugh for nearly three decades has stopped advertising with the conservative commentator after his controversial remarks on sex and birth control.
Sleep Train announced late Thursday night that it was yanking its advertisements.
“We don’t condone negative comments directed toward any group. In response, we are currently pulling our ads from Rush with Rush Limbaugh,” the company said on Twitter.
Limbaugh had called a law student a “slut” and a “prostitute” for supporting access to birth control.
Sleep Train faced a barrage of online criticism for advertising on the show. One Twitter user wrote that, “If you support Rush Limbaugh unfortunately I cannot support you again as a consumer.”
After Sleep Train announced it was pulling its advertisements, another user wrote, “Thank you @theSleepTrain for not supporting misogyny. You’re a good egg.”
Sleep Train and Rush Limbaugh have a long history together, with both finding their footing in Sacramento around the same time. Company owner Dale Carlsen recalled in a 2005 interview being talked into having Limbaugh, then a local radio host, being Sleep Train’s spokesman soon after the first store opened in 1985.
‘The ad guy said, ‘Now he’s a little bit controversial, but he needs a bed, would you take care of him? ‘’ Carlsen told the Sacramento Bee. ‘I needed every sale that I could get at that time, so I said, ‘Yeah, bring him in and I’ll take care of him.’ ‘
Limbaugh continued to promote Sleep Train for at least the next two decades, according to the Bee.
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-- Chris Megerian
Twitter: @chrismegerian
