British Airways Is Facing Backlash For Pulling Louis Theroux Sponsorship Over Bob Vylan Interview

ByMF Jones

The decision of British Airways to pull sponsorship from the Louis Theroux podcast following his interview with Bob Vylan seems to have backfired, with the general sentiment on social media in support of the podcaster and his freedom to sit down and speak to whomever he wants.

During the interview, punk singer Bob Vylan told Theroux he had ‘no regrets’ about leading the ‘death to the IDF’ chant at Glastonbury, adding that he would ‘do it again tomorrow and twice on Sundays.’

British Airways said that the interview “breached” its sponsorship policy, which is interesting, given that Louis Theroux has previously interviewed Nazis, paedophiles, murderers and so on, and didn’t lose any sponsorship or funding over those.

Indeed, this move by British Airways is not adding up in the minds of the British public, and they’re letting the airline know it:

Furthermore, we’re also seeing the Streisand Effect in full, um, effect as the controversy has unintentionally boosted the episode’s popularity, with people tuning into the Louis Theroux x Bob Vylan interview to see what the fuss is all about. Seriously, how did the powers-that-be not see that coming?

It remains to be seen whether this saga actually affects British Airways’s bottom line, but in general people do not seem happy about them undermining free speech and stifling creative freedom. The idea is that other podcast hosts will see what’s going on and will be reluctant to interview controversial figures like Bob Vylan, which isn’t ideal whether you support the guy’s views or not. Podcasters should be able to platform whoever they want and the public should then decide whether they want to tune in. Simple as that really.

For Bob Vylan’s reaction to the death of Charlie Kirk, click HERE. Now that wasn’t cool.

Similar Posts