Keurig CEO Backs Down in Response to Sean Hannity Boycott: 'This Is an Unacceptable Situation'
After #BoycottKeurig started trending on Twitter over the weekend, the coffee machine company’s CEO Bob Gamgort has expressed regret in an email to employees obtained by The Washington Post.
In case you’re not up to speed, the company announced in a tweet on Saturday that they were halting advertising on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show following the anchor’s controversial comments about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, one as young as 14.
I pulled an "Office Space" with my Keurig... Would be a shame if everyone else joined me in the Keurig Smash Challenge #BoycottKeurig #IStandWithHannity #SundayMorning pic.twitter.com/yEADeRC006
— Angelo John Gage (@AngeloJohnGage) November 12, 2017
In Gambgort’s email to his employees, he called the decision to pause advertising among controversy “business as usual,” but condemned how his company handled the announcement.
“The decision to publicly communicate our programming decision via our Twitter account was highly unusual,” he wrote. “This gave the appearance of ‘taking sides’ in an emotionally charged debate that escalated on Twitter and beyond over the weekend, which was not our intent.” Gambgort also noted that Hannity “later apologized for his comments in his own tweet,” claiming he “misspoke.”
He added that the announcement was made “outside of company protocols” and called it “an unacceptable situation that requires an overhaul of our issues response and external communications policies and the introduction of safeguards to ensure this never happens again.”
While some conservatives on Twitter have hailed the apology as a victory, others who have condemned Moore’s alleged actions felt it was an unnecessary concession. “You don’t have to apologize for ‘taking sides’ when one side is pro-pedophilia,” Full Frontal host Samantha Bee tweeted.
WE WON! @Keurig apologizes.
DO NOT underestimate the POWER of the Silent Majority. Congrats @seanhannity , your viewers have spoken#IStandWithHannity #MondayMotivation #CitizenOfTheYear https://t.co/MdYj7lyvk3— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) November 13, 2017
Psst, @Keurig, you don’t have to apologize for “taking sides” when one of the sides is pro-pedophilia.
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) November 13, 2017
Others have also joked about the effectiveness of the boycott, pointing out that these people have already bought the machine.
The people smashing Keurig machines aren't going far enough! You all should buy 10, no, 100 more! Smashy smashy to show everyone! Grrrrrr! ????
— Kim Horcher (@kimscorcher) November 13, 2017
I applaud brave patriots smashing their coffee makers! But think of all the small appliances in your house THAT NEVER ADVERTISED ON HANNITY IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Wtf is up w that lib bs? SMASH THEM ALL! I bet your hair dryer disapproves of adults dating middle schoolers! SMASH IT!— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) November 13, 2017
It also reached meme status in at least one office building on Monday morning.
I? came into the office early to put Sean Hannity’s face on all the Keurigs this week rules already. pic.twitter.com/WJwBidQmwv
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) November 13, 2017
Other companies who pulled support from Hannity include Realtor.com and fashion brand Eloquii—though neither have received the same amount of social media attention as Keurig.
UPDATE: A previous version of this article claimed Hannity called for a boycott of the company, when actually it was his viewers who initiated the boycott. Hannity has since responded to Gambgort: “I accept the apology of the Keurig CEO,” Hannity said. “Frankly, I think they were victims of they group they knew nothing about. … I feel sorry that they were dragged into politics.”
