Dana Loesch is the embodiment of the worst elements of the NRA—the parts that have nothing to do with protecting a constitutional amendment and everything to do with protecting the corporate gun lobby. She’s made a living out of insulting victims and survivors of mass shootings and police violence, and she once called the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action a bunch of “bored women” who “got tired of drinking boxed wine in their driveways and got together to annoy law-abiding folks.”
As an NRA spokesperson, Loesch was also a prominent figure on the absolutely bonkers NRATV. John Oliver did a deep dive into the network earlier this year and their bizarre range of programming, saying “There is a lot to be concerned about regarding the NRA’s activities, but NRATV might actually be the dumbest, most transparent thing it does.” There were hunting shows and Antique Road Show knock-offs and a whole slew of female-centered shows designed to lure in women by making guns look “fabulous.”
NRATV was also the source of a number of weird and often disturbing viral clips featuring Loesch, like that time the network put klan hoods on Thomas the Tank Engine trains to protest diversity:
This is the NRA’s totally reasonable, super clever, and not a little bit racist response to a Nigerian train character being introduced.
Because… that character existing means…Thomas was in the KKK before? Or something?
Ok, I give up. This is disturbing as hell. pic.twitter.com/E7Yb9GSOVk
— Mike (@MaskedBrute) September 12, 2018
All of that is now a thing of the past, though, as the NRA has officially shut down production of NRATV. (Though they may continue to air past content.) The organization has apparently felt the network and its operating company Ackerman McQueen have become too extreme and too far removed from their core values. Also, according to the New York Times, there’s some sort of legal dispute between the two, as the NRA began audits of their contractors in relation to its tax-exempt status, and accused Ackerman McQueen of refusing to comply.
And on top of all of that, NRATV kept their viewership numbers secret, but it’s now being reported that the site had a measly 49,000 unique visitors in January. And Ackerman McQueen has reportedly been receiving $40 million annually from the NRA.
So it’s no wonder that NRA is cutting ties with the advertising firm. And that includes Loesch, who was apparently an employee of Ackerman McQueen, not the NRA directly. The internet is … less than sympathetic to her plight.
hearing NRATV and Dana Loesch are canceled like pic.twitter.com/9p9m0spqsF
— shauna (@goldengateblond) June 26, 2019
I love that Dana Loesch started her day by defending companies that supply the Trump concentration camps, and ended it by getting fired. Perfection. Chef’s kiss.
— Wendy Molyneux (@WendyMolyneux) June 26, 2019
Congrats to Dana Loesch and the NRA for finally trending for something that doesn’t involve a bunch of murdered schoolchildren.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) June 26, 2019
Dear NRATV and Dana Loesch,
Thoughts and prayers.
In lieu of flowers, I’m making a donation right now to @MomsDemand in your honor.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Chuck Curriehttps://t.co/M6H94IFM78 via @NYTimes
— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) June 26, 2019
Dana Loesch wasn’t an activist or a spokesperson — she was a professional mass shooting enabler. Thoughts and prayers won’t save lives, but her losing her job absolutely will.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 26, 2019
Thoughts and prayers, Dana.
(image: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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