Despite Rush Limbaugh Apology, Advertisers Continue to Flee

LAS VEGAS - JANUARY 27: Radio talk show host and conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, one of the judges for the 2010 Miss America Pageant, speaks during a news conference for judges at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino January 27, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pageant will be held at the resort on January 30, 2010. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Photo: Ethan Miller/2010 Getty Images

Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh did finally apologize to Sandra Fluke for “[choosing] the wrong words” and "[attempting] to be humorous” — remember, calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute” for openly discussing contraception, which 99 percent of women have used at least once. Of course, Limbaugh’s famously crass and angry sense of humor is nothing new to his advertisers, who’ve had to make their peace with it in order to reach his millions of loyal listeners. But the current brouhaha caught his sponsors off guard, scaring several off, including a few who suspended their ads well after his public apology. ProFlowers, an online florist, is now the seventh company to ditch Limbaugh’s radio show, following the example of two mattress sellers, a mortgage refinancing company, a software maker, legal services website, and online data provider. If things get much worse, Limbaugh’s ad people may have to put in a call to the makers of Dr. Pepper 10, a low-calorie soda aggressively marketed as “not for women.”

Despite Rush Limbaugh Apology, Advertisers Continue to Flee