UFC President Dana White has expressed his disappointment with luxury stationary bike company Peloton after the company pulled its advertisements on a podcast due to an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a recent episode of comedian Theo Von’s show, Von revealed that Peloton had withdrawn its ads following his conversation with Kennedy. However, a Peloton spokesperson denied the claim, stating that the company’s decision was based on the comedian’s content conflicting with their “brand safety guidelines.”
White did not hold back his criticism of Peloton during the podcast episode, using strong language to express his frustration. He questioned the company’s stance, saying, “Peloton, what do they sell, f—ing… stationary bikes? Peloton sells stationary bikes, and they’ve got a problem with Robert f—ing Kennedy.” He further exclaimed, “F— you Peloton! Who the f— are they? Are you f—ing kidding me?”
Both White and Von went on to criticize Peloton and its CEO, Barry McCarthy, with White declaring that he would be removing Peloton bikes from his gym. Von mentioned that his ad agency expressed concerns that the incident could negatively impact Peloton’s upcoming public offering. Von also revealed that Peloton had asked him to take down an older episode due to something Kennedy had recently said in the news, even though the episode was from two years ago.
According to Peloton’s spokesperson, the company requested the removal of its ad from a December 2021 episode featuring Kennedy due to their “brand safety guidelines,” which restrict proximity to political content. The spokesperson clarified that Peloton had continued to advertise with Von. The company’s “brand safety guidelines” prohibit advertising in connection with topics such as drug and alcohol use, vulgar language, inappropriate content, crude humor, sexual themes, political issues, racial issues, among others.
When asked about Peloton’s endorsement of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, the spokesperson emphasized that the company’s values prioritize equity. However, they made a distinction between company beliefs and marketing advertising spend, stating that the endorsement did not involve proactive advertising buys related to the issue.
The spokesperson acknowledged that Peloton had pulled its advertising after a sponsored episode in March 2022 that discussed pornography and sexual situations. This aligns with the fact that Von’s content often touches on mature themes. When questioned if similar episodes had faced ad removal, the spokesperson was unsure if such incidents had occurred.
Peloton’s spokesperson suggested that Von’s content may have evolved over time, and it would require an analysis of the podcast’s trajectory to understand the differences between current and past episodes. The spokesperson also admitted that it is challenging for the company to monitor every episode or platform where it advertises but affirmed their commitment to maintaining consistency in adhering to brand safety guidelines.
Digital has reached out to Von’s podcast for further comment on the matter. Houston Keene, a politics writer for Digital, contributed to this report.
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