lgbt-unfriendly advertising

Advertisers Drop Pretty Little Liars After Character Comes Out

Cast at 2011 Young Hollywood Awards; Mitchell first from right.

After Shay Mitchell’s character on Pretty Little Liars, Emmy Emily Fields, revealed she was a lesbian (not the first on the show, mind you), the Florida Family Association (whose core mission can probably be summarized as: “Ahhh homosexuals, they are taking over the world!”) launched a ranked fifth in the 18 to 49 audience bracket in last Tuesday’s cable lineup — GM’s claim that its decision was based on a change in the “relevance of the show’s audience for our brands” rings a little hollow. Oh yeah, and there’s a sort of incriminating e-mail from GM’s director of consumer services to the FFA that reads: “We have investigated this matter and confirmed that our advertising did air as you have reported. We have informed ABC Family Channel and our agencies that Pretty Little Liars is not a program that we will sponsor. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.” [E! Online]

Advertisers Drop Pretty Little Liars After Character Comes Out