Keurig CEO apologizes for 'taking sides' as conservatives smash its machines to defend Sean Hannity
Keurig's CEO apologized to employees for appearing to "take sides" in a political flap.
The coffee brand publicly announced its decision to cut advertising on Sean Hannity's show over the weekend.
Conservatives and fans of Hannity responded by calling for a boycott, with some even smashing their Keurig machines.
Keurig's CEO has apologized to employees following backlash against the brand's decision to stop running ads during Sean Hannity's FOX News show.
In a memo to employees obtained by The Washington Post's Erik Wemple, CEO Bob Gamgort called Keurig's decision to explain its plan to "pause" its advertising with Hannity's show "highly unusual" and "outside of company protocols."
"This gave the appearance of 'taking sides' in an emotionally charged debate that escalated on Twitter and beyond over the weekend, which was not our intent," Gamgort wrote.
Responses to Keurig after company pulls ads from Hannity programs:
He continued: "Clearly, this is an unacceptable situation that requires an overhaul of our issues response and external communications policies and the introduction of safeguards to ensure this never happen again ... The nature of social media and the internet news environment is that stories like this explode, and generally do not disappear quickly."
Gamgort also apologized to employees for negativity they may have experienced as a result of the situation.
On Saturday, Keurig announced on Twitter that it would no longer advertise on Hannity's show. The news came following Hannity's interview with Roy Moore, an Alabama GOP Senate candidate accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old and other teens.
With Keurig cutting advertising, many on the right called for Hannity's supporters to boycott Keurig. On Sunday, some people went as far as posting videos of themselves smashing their Keurig coffee machines.
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