Content creators and entrepreneurs have no choice but to fight back against advertisers who try to control their messages. Ultimate Fighting Championship President and CEO Dana White showed one way to do that.
In an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast, White became incensed upon learning that the stationary-bike company Peloton withdrew advertisements from a podcast episode in which Von interviewed independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
White then pledged to remove all Peloton bikes from UFC gyms. “We’re gettin’ rid of ’em. We’re gonna go throw ’em in the f***ing garbage,” the CEO said.
That promise came after more than four consecutive minutes during which Von and White took turns mocking Peloton, in particular CEO and President Barry McCarthy. In the process, they bandied plenty of four-letter words.
Readers who wish to view the entire expletive-laden podcast episode may do so here:
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WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language some readers may find offensive.
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In the moments prior to Von’s revelation of Peloton’s tactics, White had maintained a low-key demeanor as the conversation ranged across a variety of topics. That changed, however, when Von mentioned the company by name.
“So Peloton? What do they sell, f***ing stationary bikes? Peloton sells stationary bikes, and they got a problem of Robert f***ing Kennedy. F*** you, Peloton. Who the f*** are they?” White said as Von laughed.
White then asked the show’s staff to identify and pull up a photo of the Peloton CEO. When they saw McCarthy’s picture, White and Von doubled-down on the Peloton mockery.
“F*** you, Peloton. Do we have Pelotons in the gym?” White asked while pointing to someone off camera.
When the answer came back affirmative, White promised to do something about it.
“We’re gettin’ rid of ’em. We’re gettin’ rid of the Pelotons,” he said.
At that point, for White, it became a matter of principle.
“That’s what you do. That’s what you do. You stop f***ing using their products,” White said.
Von agreed.
“And that’s the same thing for me. Like, if somebody’s telling you that you can’t vote a certain way, if somebody’s telling you that — if your boss is — make a video and f***ing blast them,” the host replied.
White grew more and more indignant.
“Imagine that f***ing dork,” he said while pointing at McCarthy’s picture, “f***ing picking up the phone, calling you, and telling you that you can’t have Robert Kennedy, who is a Democrat by the way.
“You know that guy’s a f***ing Democrat,” White continued, still pointing to the picture.
Von thanked White for showing how to fight back against advertisers who effectively want to censor people.
“You have to fight back. You gonna let that f***ing guy tell you what to do?” White said of McCarthy.
Show staffers then pulled up an article about Peloton having laid off 500 workers during a fourth round of job cuts.
“Look at this. There he is,” White said, again becoming excited. “That right there tells you exactly what f***ing Barry McCarthy is all about.”
Amid the excessive vulgarity, White revealed substantial truth. And he did so in a tone of righteous indignation fueled by the working-class common sense of a self-made man.
First, Peloton already has marketed itself to affluent, virtue-signaling liberals. In many of its older commercials, fit people pedaled away in urban high rises surrounded by modern amenities. No one ever came home from a coal mine and jumped on a Peloton.
Second, virtue-signaling liberals have high regard for their own moral qualities. Thus, they try to censor people who disagree with them, and they do it with the approval of their own consciences.
As White noted, however, they have no high horse to mount, for they preach to their perceived inferiors while laying off 500 of their own workers. In other words, who do they think they are?
Finally, White delivered the most important message of all: “You have to fight back.”
