The company chose to pull its cryptocurrency advertisement after a Fox News host made inappropriate remarks about a shooting in the United States
Grayscale Investments, recently in the spotlight for running a cryptocurrency advertisement, removed its ad from Tucker Carlson’s prime-time program after the host made controversial comments about a shooting that occurred during a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
The ad was part of a nationwide cryptocurrency promotion campaign launched three weeks earlier and had aired on FOX, FOX Business, CNBC, and MSNBC.
On August 27, Carlson, a Fox News host, appeared to justify a shooting carried out by a 17-year-old armed with an automatic rifle. The incident resulted in the deaths of two protesters.
“Are we really surprised that looting and arson turn into murder? Are we shocked that 17-year-olds with rifles decided to keep order when no one else would?” he asked.
Public reaction on social media was swift. Popular YouTuber and political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen urged the show’s eight sponsors to “pay Tucker Carlson to defend a murderer on air.”
Grayscale is one of those eight sponsors of Fox News.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie was killed in a school shooting in 2018, posted a pointed response on Twitter to Carlson’s remarks.
“My daughter was killed by an 18-year-old with an AR-15. She had just entered her school. Tucker, you are a fucking lunatic who will get people killed. I hope advertisers drop you immediately today. You should be fired for the safety of our children,” his tweet read.
Grayscale quickly released its own statement on Twitter, telling followers that the views expressed on the program “absolutely do not reflect our values or what we stand for.”
“It appears one of our ads aired during a television program last night that absolutely does not align with our values or what we stand for. We are investigating how this ad ran outside the guidelines of our media buyer to ensure this does not happen again,” the company said.
Responses to Grayscale’s decision to pull the advertisement were mixed. While some praised the swift action, others argued the firm should have stuck to promoting cryptocurrencies and avoided taking a political stance. Crypto investor Matt Messex tweeted that he would close his accounts due to what he described as Grayscale’s political direction.
Grayscale is a high-profile investment firm in the cryptocurrency sector, managing approximately $5.8 billion in assets.
Translated by Carolane de Palmas