Skip navigation
Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism University of Southern California
Top Stories

Limbaugh and Fluke Controversy Continues

Advertisers and politicians have denounced Limbaugh in wake of his controversial comments.

Two little words have kept Rush Limbaugh at the forefront of a national debate on women's health for nearly a week.

Rush Limbaugh (Photo courtesy AP)
Rush Limbaugh (Photo courtesy AP)
Nine advertisers have now pulled their support from Limbaugh's radio show less than a week after he called Sandra Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University, a "slut" and a "prostitute." Limbaugh was referring to Fluke's testimony before Democratic members of Congress, in which she voiced her belief that contraception should be covered in her school's health insurance.

The controversy has propelled the so-called war on women's health in the spotlight of issues encompassed by the 2012 presidential elections. Both Democrats and Republicans have suggested that Limbaugh's inflammatory comments could cause swing voters to turn away from the Republican party. Republican presidential candidates, however, have spoken out against Limbaugh.

Though Limbaugh's comments have drawn more attention for their offensiveness than anything else, they are rooted in the underlying and controversial debate about whether schools and employers should cover contraception in insurance. In her testimony, Fluke said that "we refuse to pick between a quality education and our health. And we resent that in the 21st century, anyone thinks it's acceptable to ask us to make this choice simply because we are women."

Limbaugh countered this and other remarks by asking, "What makes birth control pills so unique that the insurance copmany - government, somebody, taxpayers - has to provide this?"

Obama called Fluke on Friday to voice support for her. On Saturday, Limbaugh issue a written apology for his comments. He later stated on his radio program that "I should not have used the language I did, and it was wrong." Still, he maintained his stance that Fluke was unqualified to testify on the issue.

Many advertisers have withdrawn support from Limbaugh's show and a radio station in Hawaii has announced that it will no longer air the program. AOL released a statement that Limbaugh's comments "are not in line with our values."

Meanwhile, only time will tell whether the political ramifications of Limbaugh's comments have any significant impact on the upcoming elections. 

RELATED:

Pfizer Recalls 1M Birth Control Packets

University Installs Plan B Vending Machine

COMMENTS
Leave a comment
Name:
E-mail:*
URL:
Comments:*

We've Moved!


By Sam Bergum
01/21/16 | 11:09 a.m. PST

Visit us at uscannenbergmedia.com!

USC Basketball Knocks Off Rival UCLA 89- 75


By Scott Cook
01/14/16 | 12:05 a.m. PST

USC defeats UCLA with stellar play from their Freshmen. 

Holiday Bowl - USC vs Wisconsin Post-Game Press Conference

Su'a Cravens: "It's the players that need to step up"

Darreus Rogers: "It comes down to the players"

Trojans Fall to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl 23-21

We detected that you might be on a mobile device such as an iPad or iPhone. Sorry, at this time the video box is only visible on desktop computers.