Stores drop MyPillow after CEO Mike Lindell pushes election conspiracies
ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2020
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a briefing about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington.
Stay updated on Hawaii and national elections coverageNEW YORK >> The founder of MyPillow, a vocal and in the past few weeks very visible supporter of President Donald Trump, says a backlash against the company has begun after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol this month.
Mike Lindell, the company CEO and also the face of the brand, said major retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s have dropped his products recently.
Both companies confirmed the decision to cease carrying the brand Tuesday, but cited flagging sales rather than Lindell’s actions or his support for Trump.
“There has been decreased customer demand for MyPillow,” Kohl’s said in an email. “We will sell our current inventory and not buy additional/future inventory in the brand. “
Lindell has continued to push bogus claims of election fraud since Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the presidential race.
That has led to extensive pressure on social media for outlets carrying MyPillow, based in Chaska, Minnesota, southwest of Minneapolis, to drop the brand.
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Other companies have been caught in the crossfire as once-loyal customers are repulsed by the support of some executives for Trump.
Many households purged their pantries of Goya products after the CEO of the company appeared next to Trump at the White House and praised him effusively.
Retailers during the Trump administration have wrestled with an extremely divisive political environment, risking the loss of business from one side or the other.
Among the first brands to get a public pink slip was Ivanka Trump clothing, which Nordstrom stopped carrying in early 2017.
The company, like those dropping MyPillow, cited steadily declining sales but it was boycotted nonetheless by Trump supporters. President Trump complained on Twitter that Nordstrom treated his daughter “so unfairly.”
Other retailers dropped the brand, however, and it closed for business a year later.
Speaking with Right Side Broadcasting Network, which is best known for its live stream coverage of Trump rallies on its YouTube channel, Lindell said this week that Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s were good companies but were feeling pressured by social media campaigns.
“I told them, you guys come back any time you want,” he said in a video released on YouTube. “It’s not their fault that they’re scared.”
Lindell said MyPillow products have also been pulled from online furniture store Wayfair and Texas supermarket chain HEB.
Wayfair and HEB did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from The Associated Press.
Aside from the retail pressure, Lindell is also facing potential litigation from Dominion Voting Systems for his accusations that their voting machines played a role in election fraud. The Washington Post reported that Dominion sent Lindell a letter earlier this month stating that they would pursue legal action against him.
The company has already filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell for the same reasons after the attorney represented Trump in a series of unsuccessful lawsuits contesting the election outcome.
