MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has repeated false claims that President Donald Trump did not lose the election, said retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s are removing his company’s products from their stores.
Trump’s supporters on social media platforms are now calling for boycotts of the retailers, while other consumers are urging people to not purchase MyPillow products.
“I just got off the phone with Bed Bath & Beyond,” Lindell said during an interview Monday evening with the Right Side Broadcasting Network. “They’re dropping MyPillow.”
“Just got off the phone — not five minutes ago. Kohl’s, all these different places. … These guys don’t understand,” he went on. “They’re scared. Like a Bed Bath & Beyond, they’re scared. They were good partners. In fact, I told them, ‘You guys come back anytime you want.'”
A search by CNBC on both of the retailer’s websites Tuesday morning still showed available MyPillow merchandise for sale. MyPillow is also still sold at J.C. Penney, Amazon, Belk and some other major retailers.
A representative from Kohl’s confirmed the decision to exit the MyPillow brand. “There has been decreased customer demand for MyPillow,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “We will sell our current inventory and not buy additional/future inventory in the brand.”
A Bed Bath & Beyond spokesman said the big-box retailer is phasing the MyPillow brand out as it launches more of its own in-house lines, beginning this spring.
“As previously announced, we have been rationalizing our assortment to discontinue a number of underperforming items and brands,” he said. “This includes the MyPillow product line.”
Lindell has come under fire for spreading of conspiracy theories. Last year, for example, he promoted a fake cure for Covid. More recently, he has said there was widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election.
According to report by The New York Times, officials at Dominion Voting Systems have now sent Lindell a legal letter that warns of pending litigation over his baseless claims of widespread fraud involving their machines. Lindell was not immediately available to respond to CNBC’s request for comment about the letter.
Last week, Lindell was seen visiting the White House and carrying partially obscured notes that looked to tell Trump to invoke “martial law if necessary.”
Following Lindell’s interview where he referenced Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s, users on Twitter are calling for other retailers, like Walmart, to drop MyPillow as well.
The country’s largest retailer recently halted donations from its political action committee to the campaigns of congressional Republicans who opposed certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Lindell created his MyPillow empire from scratch in 2004, while struggling with a cocaine addiction. His memoir about his background was published in late 2019.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
