Ingraham apologizes amid backlash over Parkland student criticism

Fox News host Laura Ingraham apologized Thursday over a critical tweet she sent out the day before about a Parkland, Fla., shooting survivor, as at least nine advertisers pulled their spots from her program.

After mocking Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg over his college rejections, Ingraham tweeted an apology “in the spirit of Holy Week” to him and his fellow classmates.

Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David…(1/2)

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018

… immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how “poised” he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018

The apology highlights the growing power of Hogg and other students from the Parkland school, who have become national figures in the fight over gun violence.

Ingraham apologized to Hogg a day after her initial tweet as she and her advertisers came under enormous criticism on social media — and as sponsors withdrew their support.

Hogg and his classmates last week led a march in Washington, D.C., that called attention to gun violence. They have become mainstays on cable television, and several have amassed large social media followings.

So far their efforts have not led to significant changes to gun laws in Washington, but the battle with Ingraham suggested again that the influence of the Parkland students is not fizzling in any way. 

The student had quickly responded to Ingraham’s taunts by asking about companies that advertise on her show, a move that unleashed additional chatter about the issue and led nine advertisers on the show — Nestle, Hulu, Johnson & Johnson, Wayfair, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Joseph A. Banks Clothiers, pet food brand Nutrish and online personal shopping service Stitch Fix — to pull commercials from “The Ingraham Angle.”

Hogg rejected Ingraham’s apology on Thursday as insufficient and self-serving in a tweet of his own:

I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I️ in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children. https://t.co/H0yWs4zMGk

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018

{mosads}The fight began on Wednesday when Ingraham shared a Daily Wire story that reported Hogg was rejected from four colleges. 

“David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates,)” Ingraham tweeted.

Hogg replied a few hours later, asking who the Fox News host’s biggest advertisers were in a tweet.

He later tweeted out a list of Ingraham’s advertisers, directing people to contact those companies.

Pick a number 1-12 contact the company next to that #

Top Laura Ingraham Advertisers
1. @sleepnumber
2. @ATT
3. Nutrish
4. @Allstate & @esurance
5. @Bayer
6. @RocketMortgage Mortgage
7. @LibertyMutual
8. @Arbys
9. @TripAdvisor
10. @Nestle
11. @hulu
12. @Wayfair

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 28, 2018

Hogg and fellow classmates have become the subjects of fierce criticism on the right. Breitbart News and InfoWars even comparing Hogg to Adolf Hitler because of a gesture he made at the march.

— Updated at 10:02 p.m.