Posted on 07/15/2004 6:27:53 AM PDT by locochupacabra
Outspoken liberal comedian Whoopi Goldberg, who has served as the spokesperson for the weight loss product Slim-Fast since November, was summarily dropped by the company on Wednesday for her incendiary remarks regarding President George W. Bush at a Hollywood fundraiser on behalf of the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA).
In a statement, Slim-Fast General Manager and Vice President of Marketing Terry Olson announced that the Florida-based company does not condone the manner in which Goldberg conducted herself at the Kerry fundraiser that took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York last week and noted that those views do "not reflect the views and values of Slim-Fast."
"Slim-Fast selected Whoopi Goldberg as its spokesperson because of her commitment to losing weight, which we applaud," Olson said in the statement. "We are disappointed by the manner in which Ms. Goldberg chose to express herself and sincerely regret that her recent remarks offended some of our consumers."
Olson apologized to their customers who were offended by Goldberg's remarks and added that the ads featuring Goldberg have now been permanently pulled from the air.
Republicans, who had talked about starting a boycott of Slim-Fast over Goldberg's remarks, blasted the Kerry campaign for condoning the star-studded gala featuring obscene language.
In fact, The New York Post described Goldberg's "X-rated rant" as "a stream of vulgar sexual wordplays on Bush's name in a riff about female genitalia."
Goldberg responded in a statement that she could "completely understand why Slim-Fast felt that they needed to respond to their consumers swiftly and promptly regarding this matter, given all the press attention it has received."
"But it saddens me that people who were not present at the fundraiser, including anyone from Slim-Fast and others who have not seen the material for themselves but are only reacting to sound bytes produced by the media, have opted to judge my 'conduct,'" Goldberg lamented.
Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman put out a call to the Kerry campaign on Tuesday for a public release of a tape of the event. The Kerry campaign has refused to do so.
Slim-Fast's parent company is Netherlands-based Unilever, the world's largest maker of food and soap, who hired Goldberg to "shake the notion of just shakes" with the weight loss product.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Goldin did not disclose whether Goldberg's remarks have had an effect on Slim-Fast sales.
Don't forget he was Texas Jack in The Great Race......"Now give me some fightin' room!"
Please post articles with the original title.
The boycott worked; I'm glad. I sent an email to SlimFast, and I've never used the stuff.
Now the Hellman's, Knorr and Lipton are going to be problematic, but I'll fund some substitutes anyway.
He died...when?
Sorry. My bad. He is still alive. He was in the news last year when his ex-wife died.
I had a senior moment. Either that or a brain fart.
The ads are still running on CMT.
I have been informed by you all, thanks.
No Slim Fast for me and I am still happy they bagged the dirt bag on this one!
bttt
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