Trump supporters’ favorite pillow brand is going flat.
MyPillow, a pillow and mattress-topper company best known for its infomercials and outlandish medical claims, came out swinging for Donald Trump during the presidential election. “I’m here to give all my credibility to Mr. Donald Trump,” the company’s founder and spokesperson Mike Lindell told Fox News during an interview at the final presidential debate, where he had scored seats to support Trump.
But Lindell might be the rare businessman with less credibility than Trump. The Better Business Bureau yanked MyPillow’s accreditation this week and slapped the company with an “F” rating, over what customers described as a misleading ad campaign.
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MyPillow has racked up years of customer complaints, from allegations of the pillow’s trumped-up health claims, to a recent complaint that reads “I want to murder Mike Lindell” 15 times and accuses the company of selling overpriced wares.
The BBB also took issue with MyPillow’s price scheme, albeit in less violent language. The consumer rights organization cited MyPillow’s ongoing “buy one, get one free” offers, which advertises two pillows—usually $49.99 each—for “half price” at $99.97. The total savings were one cent. In October, MyPillow customers filed a class-action suit claiming to have been duped by the offer.
“Continuous BOGO offers, which can then be construed as an item’s regular, everyday price, violate not only BBB’s Code of Advertising—which all BBB Accredited Businesses agree to abide by—but also other state and national organizations’ rules,” Dana Badgerow, president of the BBB’s Minnesota and North Dakota branches, told KARE of the Minnesota-based company on Monday.
In a statement shared with The Daily Beast, Lindell disputed the BBB’s decision.
“MyPillow was built on our dedication to our customers’ satisfaction,” Lindell said. “We run sales and specials for our customers, so that we can give as many people as possible the chance to have a great night’s sleep. Naturally, I am terribly disappointed by the BBB’s decision.”
The BBB isn’t the only one complaining. In November, MyPillow shelled out nearly $1 million in settlement money after it was accused of promoting impossible medical claims. The company’s website had advertised its pillows as a cure for a wide range of ailments, including “migraines,” “allergies & asthma,” and “restless leg syndrome.” In fine print, the website justified the claims by explaining that “sleep often terminates migraine headaches” and that the foam pillow did not contain “mold or feathers—which are major triggers for allergies and asthma.” MyPillow quietly deleted the claims before its settlement.
In October, the company settled a different class-action, in which it agreed to stop referring to Lindell as “sleep expert” in infomercials, as he had never received any formal training. In 2013, Salesforce sued MyPillow for $550,000, accusing the company of breaching contract and stiffing them on a $125,000 credit card bill. Earlier that year, two of Lindell’s early backers accused him of cutting them out of their rightful share in the company, which they said was a combined 42 percent.
But not even the litany of lawsuits could top the furor MyPillow faced over Lindell’s politics. As the election wore on, the company’s Twitter account turned puzzlingly partisan, retweeting pro-Trump messages from users with screen names like “Deplorable Sadie.” Lindell tweeted at Trump, promising the then-candidate a free pillow, and advertised appearances at pro-Trump rallies and the Republican National Convention.
Some would-be pillow buyers tweeted their dissatisfaction at Lindell.
“I was considering buying your pillow but I sure won’t now,” one Twitter user promised after Lindell gave an interview in support of Trump at the final presidential debate. “Get stuffed!”
But some pillow partisans saw MyPillow’s Trump support as a selling point. In December, the brand retweeted a buyer who, in a conversation with the Twitter user “@Bitch2U2,” praised Lindell for meeting with Trump and declared “America first!” (“I see the commercials all the time, You R a Trump supporter now I will def buy one!” user @Bitch2U2 tweeted at Lindell.)
MyPillow is not in bed with Trump, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast in November. The views espoused on the pillow’s social media are “Mr. Lindell’s personal opinion,” spokesperson Michelle Lawless said.
But MyPillow has spent years partnering with the conservative voices who later became Trump’s biggest cheerleaders. Fox host Sean Hannity was a longtime spokesperson for the brand, after Lindell boasted of personally fitting him for a pillow. Conservative radio host Joe Walsh, who threatened protest in the street with a musket if Hillary Clinton won the presidency, was also a paid spokesperson, appearing in a MyPillow infomercial.
“For the first time in my life I am sleeping thru the night thanks to My Pillow,” Walsh tweeted in 2014, urging followers to use his promotional code on the website.
He later posted an updated tweet to clarify that freedom never sleeps, even on his sponsored pillow. Walsh confirmed to The Daily Beast that the promotional code was still active.
