Disney just can’t seem to catch a break nowadays. After their humiliating loss in the feud they picked with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, they are now getting heat from the progressive left. Yet, they still haven’t learned their lesson: When you get political, you can’t win for losing.
The Washington Post published a piece reporting about how Democrats are lobbing criticism at Hulu, a streaming services company owned by Disney. Progressives are upset that the company is refusing to run its political ads with content related to abortion and gun control.
Democrats are big mad at Hulu because it is popular among younger voters, which is a key voting block for left-leaning candidates. From The Post:
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association tried to purchase joint ads on abortion and guns with Hulu on July 15, along with identical placements on a Disney-affiliated ABC affiliate in Philadelphia and the company’s cable sports channel ESPN. The Hulu ads never ran, while the others did.
Christie Roberts, Tim Persico, and Noam Lee, the executive directors of the three committees, issued a statement taking issue with the company’s refusal to run their ads:
“Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous, offensive, and another step down a dangerous path for our country. Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ agenda on issues like abortion — and Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people by blocking voters from learning the truth about the GOP record or denying these issues from even being discussed.”
These are not the only Democratic entities that have faced difficulty in getting their ads to run on the streaming service. Suraj Patel, who is running for Congress in New York City, posted a letter to the company’s leadership complaining about the issue. Patel said that one of the company’s employees told his campaign that there is an “unwritten Hulu policy” that decided one of the themes in his ads was too “sensitive.” The ad referred to the GOP victories “around abortion, climate change and gun violence, while also showing footage of the violence from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol,” according to The Washington Post.
“To not discuss these topics in my campaign ad is to not address the most important issues facing the United States,” Patel argued. “Your ban on mobilization messaging has a perverse effect on Democracy.”
The candidate explained that the company later agreed to run the ad after his campaign replaced the word “climate change” with “democracy” and swapped Jan. 6 footage with video of former President Donald Trump.
“This policy has incredible implications for people nationwide, both voters and people running for office,” Patel said. “You need to communicate with younger voters on the mediums where they are watching. Cable is not where they are watching.”
An individual who is familiar with Hulu’s policies regarding political ads told The Post that “the decision to approve Patel’s ad had been made before Monday” but was not “immediately communicated to his campaign.” The company “does not publicly disclose its advertising guidelines” but that “ads are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”
Several other progressives took to Twitter to whine about Hulu’s refusal to air their propaganda. Here are a few examples:
As long as Hulu is blocking political ads on January 6, gun safety, and reproductive rights, I will be blocking Hulu. Unsubscribe and delete.
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) July 25, 2022
This isn’t just Hulu! Billboard companies are primarily owned by Republicans and we are having trouble getting out attack ads on Tx billboards. Yet up and down I-35 they are attacking Beto and Biden. 🤬😡 https://t.co/wXfsUct8NQ
— Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC (@MomsAGAbbott) July 26, 2022
BREAKING: @Hulu is REJECTING our ads calling out GOP attacks on abortion access and gun safety. Their shady policies amount to outrageous political censorship.
Americans deserve to know the truth about these issues, and Hulu has no right to block it. https://t.co/xEfpgASoBU
— Senate Democrats (@dscc) July 25, 2022
The fact that Hulu has stuck to its guns so far is a bit surprising given the current political climate in corporate America. Companies are increasingly bowing to pressure coming from the woke mob to weigh in on political matters – as long as they are pushing the progressive agenda.
Normally, I might speculate that this is a sign that the tide is changing and that perhaps corporations are realizing that being political isn’t exactly lucrative. But it does not seem clear that a shift is taking place just yet. Hulu could still end up acquiescing to the left on this issue. Other businesses are still in thrall to the woke agenda and seem to fear cancelation. It might be a while yet before they finally grow weary of getting crybullied to death. Moreover, it will take time for their silly allegiance to the progressive crowd to damage their bottom line enough for them to get back to business as usual. However, once the situation for these companies becomes untenable, it would not be surprising to see them change their ways.
