Fans of Sean Hannity are destroying their Keurig coffee machines in protest of the company pulling its ads from the conservative host's Fox News show over his coverage of sexual misconduct allegations levied against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore.
Keurig and four other companies—Realtor.com, 23 and Me, Eloquii, and Nature's Bounty—all pulled their ads from Hannity's show after he urged viewers not to rush to judgement against Moore. In response, some Hannity fans are smashing their Keurig machines and calling for a boycott of Keurig products, USA Today reported Monday.
Some viewers posted videos of themselves on social media destroying their machines in creative ways, while others tweeted about it, vowing never to use the coffeemakers again with the hashtags #BoycottKeurig and #IStandWithHannity.
The protest gained traction when verified Twitter user Angelo John Gage posted a video of himself smashing his Keurig with a hammer. The tweet reached his 28,000-plus followers, and he urged others to join him in the "Keurig Smash Challenge."
https://twitter.com/AngeloJohnGage/status/929751887926251526
Keurig was active on Twitter over the weekend, as users questioned the company's sponsorship of Hannity’s show by buying an ad spot.
"Thank you for your concern and for bringing this to our attention," Keurig tweeted in response to one Twitter user. "We worked with our media partner and FOX news to stop our ad from airing during the 'Sean Hannity Show.'"
Sean, 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
Keurig was responding to Twitter user Sean Kent, who hosts a podcast called "Resistance Radio."
Many other Hannity fans tweeted out homemade videos of themselves destroying their coffee machines.
https://twitter.com/TheRevBobLevy/status/929822511457558534
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/929777702537543681
Hannity responded to the videos and tweets on Twitter, calling them "hilarious" and "so funny." He also retweeted a link to an article from the Red Elephants, a conservative website.
"I am humbled and speechless and frankly laughing my ass off," Hannity tweeted. "I love all my deplorable friends. Thank you and Game on!"
https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/929877694526906369
Moore appeared on Hannity's radio show on Friday to discuss allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl nearly four decades ago. The Washington Post on Thursday reported that, in 1979, Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32 years old. Three other women told the Post that Moore propositioned them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s.
Moore told Hannity that he did not know one of the women who came forward and that while he knew two other women named in the Washington Post story, dating teenagers was "not my customary behavior" at the time.
"I'm not going to dispute anything, but I don't remember anything like that," Moore said. "I don't remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother."