Advertisers ditch Sean Hannity's show after Roy Moore interview
Two companies, Realtor.com and Keurig, have pulled advertisements from Fox News host Sean Hannity’s programme after he interviewed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.
The Republican running the special election on 12 December has come under criticism for allegations of sexual abuse of teenage girls - all of which Mr Moore has denied.
“Every single person in this country deserves the presumption of innocence,” said Mr Hannity during the programme, which included ad spots from both companies.
He also later said “If it’s true [Mr Moore] should step aside” from the race.
The Washington Post’s original story on the allegations included no less than 30 sources, four of whom went on the record.
Viewers notified Kuerig and Realor.com via Twitter about their ads.
Neither has confirmed the reason for the pull was because of the interview with Mr Moore, however, they did respond to concerned Twitter users.
Angelo, thank you for your concern and for bringing this to our attention. We worked with our media partner and FOX news to stop our ad from airing during the Sean Hannity Show.
— Keurig (@Keurig) November 11, 2017
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We are adjusting our media buy to no longer include this show placement. -MS
— realtor.com (@realtordotcom) November 10, 2017
One accusation against Mr Moore, that of Leigh Corfman’s, has come under the spotlight.
Ms Corfman told the Washington Post that she was 14 years old in 1979 when then-district attorney Mr Moore, 32, approached her outside a courtroom where her parents were attending a child custody hearing.
He then proceeded to meet her twice more, kissing her and then undressing her, forcing her to touch his genitals.
Two other women - both teenagers when Mr Moore was in his 30s - have also come forward with similar stories.
Mr Moore made a name for himself in politics by touting his conservative Christian values.
Several prominent Alabama officials have come forward in defence of Mr Moore, with several arguing that since she has been married three times and filed for bankruptcy her charges are likely false.
Mr Moore has said the “allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign.”
The campaign levied the now consistent “fake news” charge against the newspaper.
Four polls have been run since the story surfaced. Three show Mr Moore roughly tied with Democrat Doug Jones in the race.
One, conducted by JMC Analytics, has Mr Jones ahead by four points.
That same poll conducted prior to the child sex abuse charges had Mr Moore ahead by nearly eight points.
The election is set to take place 12 December.
