MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has been a controversial figure in the past year, particularly in his role in promoting Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Now, a new court filing from Dominion Voting Systems sheds light on how important Lindell was to Fox News. According to the court filing, Rupert Murdoch, the media magnate behind Fox News, was eager to keep Lindell’s advertisements on-air because of the significant amount of ad revenue they provided to the network.
Murdoch said that Fox News continued running Lindell’s ads because of the “green,” not politics. He even went as far as to say that, “At first you think it’s comic, and then you get bored.” The court filing also alleges that Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott sent Lindell gifts and urged various Fox shows to book Lindell to “get ratings.”
In response to the court filing, Lindell has denied the allegation that Fox News ever sent him a gift, claiming that it is a “Dominion lie.” Lindell also expressed his disappointment that Fox News has not had him on-air for a while. He commended the network for “not punishing MyPillow” and standing up to Dominion.
Though Lindell has not been on the air for a while, he is still one of Fox’s biggest advertisers. It is unclear how much Lindell is paying to air his ads, or if he is as prominent of an advertiser as he was during the Capitol riot.
Despite their disagreements, Fox News and Lindell have maintained a relationship. While Lindell has been pushing his unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud, Fox News has stood by him and refused to pull his ads.
Fox News has responded to the court filing by accusing Dominion of “mischaracterizing the facts” and trying to “generate headlines” about its defamation lawsuit against Fox. Dominion has maintained that the First Amendment does not shield broadcasters that knowingly or recklessly spread lies.
The Dominion vs. Fox News case is not the only legal battle that Lindell is facing. He is also the target of a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion. The company has accused him of hurting their business by spreading baseless conspiracy theories about voter fraud.
Lindell has not stopped claiming that the election was stolen from Trump, however. In February, he told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that he has spent more than $40 million pushing Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. This figure amounts to four-fifths of Lindell’s estimated $50 million net worth.
As Fox News and Lindell continue to have a relationship, it remains to be seen how the network will handle its ties to the controversial MyPillow CEO. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain: Mike Lindell has become a major player in the ongoing debate over the 2020 election.
