‘Hannity’ fans smash Keurigs over pulled ads

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Supporters of conservative host Sean Hannity’s Fox News Channel show are responding to a decision by Keurig to stop advertising on the show by smashing Keurig coffee makers.

The company announced Saturday it had pulled advertising from “Hannity” after several Twitter users questioned the company’s support for the host, citing Hannity’s coverage of sexual misconduct allegations against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama. Moore is accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl four decades ago when he was in his 30s.

It’s unclear when Keurig stopped advertising on “Hannity.” The Waterbury, Vt., company didn’t respond to a request to further comment Monday.

The move prompted several people to destroy Keurig products in protest and post videos to social media. Blogger Angelo John Gage promoted what he called the “Keurig Smash Challenge” while posting a video of himself taking a hammer to his brewer.

Another user posted a video of a Keurig brewer being tossed to the ground from the second story of a building. Hannity commented “love it” while retweeting one video of a man teeing off on a coffee maker with a golf club.

Liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America has been putting public pressure on Hannity’s advertisers for months. The group’s president, Angelo Carusone, told The Associated Press it again called for companies to stop supporting Hannity’s program after the Moore allegations came to light Thursday in a Washington Post story.

Carusone said that while he feels bad for Keurig, Hannity’s encouragement of the protest against the company “demonstrates to other advertisers to run for the hills.”