13th April, 2007: Reaching Out
Apparently there is a lot of confusion in the press still. People are asking, because we went on the radiothon, are we advertising on Imus? Obviously this is a moot point since he has been fired from CBS, but I want to clarify my thought process.
Yes we are proud sponsors of the WFAN radiothon. We are proud to support The Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center which serves families of all races, we are proud to support The Imus Cattle Ranch which services seriously ill children of all races, and we are proud to support the CJ Foundation for SIDS which researches how to prevent SIDS and educates families of all ethnicities.
The radiothon has nothing to do with advertising. It is to support wonderful causes that need everyone’s support. I find it almost impossible to believe that anyone would want those children and families to suffer because of the unfortunate and unacceptable comment made by Don Imus over a week ago. At the radiothon, he made no excuse for what he said and I am making no excuse for what he said, but I hope that all of us, no matter what our opinion on Don Imus, can try to look for some good in this sea of pain and anger.
If you disagree with me going on the radiothon, I respect your opinion but please know that the money raised over those two days go to help children and families who are innocent of this whole affair.
Cindi Bigelow
Co-President
Posted by Cindi at 11:15 am |
29 Comments »
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Dear Ms. Bigelow,
Though your wish to “support” the many good works of Don & Deidre Imus is admirable, it is quite clear that you were among the first to “jump ship” as this situation was pounded into the public consciousness.
In the scheme of things I am but a humble librarian and you a corporate
president. Your voice resounds more loudly than mine; but please know, I have enjoyed your product for years; that said, it just might leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
Yours truly,
Comment by susan m. cohn, tea lover — April 13, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
Dear Cindi,
You are one among thousands who took the right stand for the right reasons. It’s sad to think that so many people didn’t look at the situation as you did. You are a wonderful heartfelt person. Thank You for standing for the cause.
Comment by Leona — April 13, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
Cindi,
I am not quite certain if you have pulled your advertising from the Imus program, BUT IF YOU DO PULL IT, I WILL PULL YOUR TEAS OFF OF MY SHELF AND NEVER BUY THEM AGAIN.
Cindy
Comment by Cindy — April 13, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
I am a big Bigelow tea drinker because of Imus endorsement. I do not agree with everything he says, however, I have been listening to him for years and I enjoy his show. No one escapes his insults. He calls politicians lyin’
weasels. Regardless of his good works and remarks, Imus is not a racist, nor am I. I will not be drinking tea anymore. I am upset that you would dump him.
Sincerely,
Barta
Comment by Barta — April 13, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
I voice my opinion with my checkbook. I will no longer purchase your products.
Larry
Comment by Larry Pittman — April 13, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
He should have been drop a long time ago the first time he made a nasty comment. Those young ladies did not deserve this. He is getting what he rightly deserves, and I am not drinking your tea……..ever.
Comment by net — April 13, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Cindi,
Your postings of the events of the past few days has been one of enlightenment for me. Thanks for putting your thoughts on record. I needed to read and heed it as do many with comments on the Imus situation. He made a mistake, was it wrong, yes. We all have done similar wrongs but by the grace of God we were not on National Radio/TV. Thanks for being a level compass.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Mitchell
Comment by Lloyd Mitchell — April 13, 2007 @ 3:48 pm
I think most of us will agree that Don’s comments were inappropriate and needed to be addressed which for his part he admirally did when he apologized to those young women in person with their parents present. I do not agree that firing Imus served any good. I think sponsors who withdrew their support precipitously also acted inappropriately. I am a Bigelow Tea drinker mainly because I learned of it on his show. I pay 50 cents more than I would for Lipton or other brands, but was a loyal buyer. However, I will now drop you, just as you did Imus. Should you decide you were in error and return to sponsoring him, let me know and I will return as a customer.
John Wallace
Comment by John Wallace — April 13, 2007 @ 5:01 pm
I wrote the company and was surprised I received a response so soon. For all the people saying they still support your company and Don Imus, should be ashamed of yourselves. If I had a daughter, I would never want her to called those names. I am sure the comments supporting the company and Don Imus were from white customers. It always amazes me how white people think they know how we feel in these terrible situations. I agree with Net, he should have been let go a long time ago. I get so tired of white people making racist remarks and then crying “I’m sorry”. I don’t feel sorry for Imus or his wife. He deserved to get fired.
Comment by sandra — April 13, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
Your sponsorship should have been canceled IMMEDIATELY. Hello Lipton, goodbye Bigelow. I do not financially support racist, sexist companies.
Comment by Angela — April 13, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
Your weak position on freedom of speach and mob like tactic suck. Yes I agree what Imus said was wrong. His punish was inappropiate and unfair and his punishment was Racist. I never buy your tea nor will I support your brand.
Comment by Shannon — April 13, 2007 @ 11:35 pm
While appreciate your company supporting the telethon may I say that the Imus firing was driven by corp. monetary decisions. I am a 70+ grandmother who was a faithful Imus TV watcher. His show provided me with more than a 60 sec. soundbite from political pundits, politicians and others. Now where will I learn about great musicians, books I would like to read and laugh in the a.m. I do not condone his thoughtless comments but I do think there has been an over reaction. What has happened to Charles, and other regulars on the show? I will miss the satire and parody. Lonesome in the a.m. Peggy
Comment by Peggy Conklin — April 14, 2007 @ 9:03 am
I would like to thank you for not bowing to the Racist pressures of Al Sharpton. And even though we are not regular Bigelow tea drinkers, our next box of tea, and we drink tea regularly, will be Bigelow.
Comment by George — April 14, 2007 @ 9:44 am
Cindi,
Hold on everyone. I just read that Bigelow Tea didn’t jump ship. Did you or didn’t you? My wife goes shopping tonight and I want to know whether I try Bigelow tea again or do you support Al Sharpton’s Nappy Headed brand of Racism? If so, I will keep drinking Red Rose.
Comment by George — April 14, 2007 @ 9:52 am
I am greatly disappointed in your company’s bowing to the likes of Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and pulling your advertisement support of the Imus in the Morning program. You failed to appreciate the tremendous good that he has done over the years, overreacted to a non-malicious comment, and failed to see the potential good that could have come out of this situation had Imus simply had the suspension and then had the great radio forum to address the issues identified by this situation. Shame on you!
Comment by Bonnie — April 14, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Imus would of probably done more for this issue if allowed to televize. Sorry to see you not stand a little taller for us little people who drink your tea while enjoying his banters and interviews. Sadly, I will not be doing either now.
Comment by Jody — April 14, 2007 @ 11:45 am
just to congratulate you on being one of the first to cancel Imus. I have just bought another box of tea to support your intelligent and brave decision. i have been a fan of your tea for many years. now i am even more glad that i have been using your product. sincerely, ruthie
Comment by ruthmcgauley — April 14, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
I was very disappointed in your company’s reaction to the Imus incident. It is a no brainer that CBS caved to the $$ and cancelled his show. What really disturbs me is your obvious support of the radical racists, Sharpton, Jackson and company by being one of the first to pull your sponsorship of the Imus show. They are the publicity ho’s, they have never met a microphone they didn’t love. Their name calling and constant “them vs us” retoric is erily similar to what is going on in Iraq today. Am I missing something? Aren’t we all American?
Just as a side note, being a middle-aged woman,I probably don’t fit the profile of the traditional (20+ year) Imus listener. What I do fit is the traditional profile of a tea drinker. Up until now I drank Bigelow tea all day, but no more Bigelho tea. I wll have to find a better substitute for my Constant Comment.
Comment by Pat A — April 15, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Selective moral outrage is unacceptable….when will Bigelow Tea take a consistent position and suspend all advertising from CBS Radio, MSNBC and other media outlets that provide airways etc. for the verbal trash called RAP Music?
When will Bigelow speak out publicly in the same media you commented in about Imus against the divisive racial tactics of Sharpton and Jackson?
Your silence on the above is deafening and as such our extended family will no longer purchase your products.
Comment by david — April 15, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
Thank you for supporting the radiothon.
I will miss Imus. Yes his comments were offensive. But the punishment did NOT fit the crime.
Comment by Angela S — April 15, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
Dear Cindi:
Imus occasionally offended people-but so do hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, who openly mocked Michael J. Fox’s Parkinsons Disease symptoms, and Michael Savage, who routinely makes fun of autistic individuals.
It is absolutely ridiculous that he was fired. I am the mother of an autistic child, and Imus was the only major media person in America to address the current autism epidemic in an honest manner. He also does an enormous amount of charity work for children suffering from cancer, and for wounded soldiers in need of rehabilitation services.
I have worked as an attorney for large corporations for over 20 years, and having worked extensively with PR departments, I can attest to the fact that the content of the mainstream media today unfortunately has devolved to little more than big company PR spin. I believed Imus’ honesty and courage in addressing current issues was unmatched by anyone in the media today. The loss of his voice is tragic–and unnecessary.
I love your tea, and will resume purchasing it when I see you sponsoring Imus again.
Most sincerely,
Jenna Smith
Comment by Jenna Smith — April 15, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
I am a Bigelow tea drinker because of Imus. I will miss drinking your fine product because of your premature decision to pull the advertising. I also have a daughter who is a Rutgers graduate. Imus’ one remark was stupid and insensitive. However he has repeatedly apologized and expressed his intent to improve the situation. It would have been much more effective to have him remain on the air and work on this solution in the same way he has addressed veterans health care and the autism crisis. You and the other advertisers responded to people who are radio/TV market competitors and/or have a political agenda. I am hopeful that Imus will return to satellite radio and I will use the money I am saving on tea to pay to listen.
Comment by Olga Tompkins — April 16, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
When I heard that Imus had “thanked” Bigelow for supporting him, I had to check this site to see for myself whether it was true. As a life long (generational)tea drinker, I needed to determine if Bigelow would stay on my shelf. I’m still not sure. I applaud you for continuing your support of the charities that you have been endorsing for several years. That’s not adverstising for Imus, but wouldn’t you agree that he “pimped” you by claiming on air that you were supporting him? I am more upset by the characterization of this whole incident by those who want you to support Imus. Review those comments and notice how few of them mention one syllable about the victims in this incident - the women of Rutgers. Where is the outrage? Don’t these people have daughters? These women were called “tramps” in the vernacular. Was it racist, too? Of course. If Rutgers had been an all white team, what comparable comment could Imus or anyone else have made - there’s a bunch of dumb blondes - OUCH! That would be rude, but you know it wouldn’t be the same. These writers who can only describe what Imus said as “unfortunate, unacceptable, or inappropriate” are apologists for hate-speech. You yourself should make a much stronger statement of repudiation, because such weak pronouncements sound like your company is trying to have it both ways. Where is the indignity? And don’t make this a referendum about Sharpton, Jackson or rap music. This is NOT about them. It is about 18, 19 and 20 year old women - teens really, being denigrated in front of millions of people. How can you or these writers not be OUTRAGED?!
Comment by Gregory Lee — April 16, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
As someone who only purchased your product in response to the advertisements on the Imus show, I was somewhat taken aback by your politically-correct rush to judgement re: advertising on his show. While I am not defending his lapse in judgement in this instance, your appalling lack of fortitude in the face of criticism from the real racists spoke louder than any words that were uttered. Count me as a former Bigelow Tea drinker also. After all, tea is tea. Loyalty, however, appears to be a lot harder commodity to obtain.
Comment by Rick — April 16, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
Cindi,
I was a daily listener to the Imus in the Morning Show. Maybe I was just numb but I don’t agree that he constantly used Racist & Sexist jokes.
In your words, I ” hope and pray this world still does allow for redemption”
Comment by Maggie — April 16, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
This seems to have disappeared, so I’m putting it on again to make sure it wasn’t CENSORED.
I will be returning my unused Earl Grey tea to your corporate office. I am so sad to see in action the so-called “ethics” of your company.
I do not find it “American” to place a laser beam of blame onto one individual because of the ills of the whole society.
IMO, that’s what you have helped to do!
P.S. I’ve ordered an IMUS coffee giftpack online.
Comment by Ginger Pyle — April 17, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
Thank you for your wonderful products.
Your variety of teas have helped me during the past year with my struggle to break a dependence upon alcohol.
During my five-year alcoholic reign of terror, I have said many mean and hurtful things that I never would have said (or even thought) if I had been sober. I may not agree with Mr. Imus’s words, but I understand the destructiveness of an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
Please look for positives and continue your support of worthy projects.
Comment by TJ — April 19, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
My guess is Mr.Jackson used his blackmail techniques against CBS. Again the African-American warlords divide this country more.
On a side note we are all one RACE, the human race!
Sarah
Comment by Sarah — April 22, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Ms. Bigelow: In surfing the blogosphere I came across a reference to your clarification of Bigelow’s advertising decisions subsequent to the Don Imus / Rutgers basketball team imbroglio, which read in part:
“….I just wish we had a chance to allow something positive to come from all this divisiveness, for us all to reach a higher place.”
Please allow me to aplaud you for this crucial insight. Far too many people reacted in a knee-jerk fashion, and jumped on the “political correctness” bandwagon without allowing Mr. Imus and the impressive women of the basketball team to sort out their issues personally in a meaningful and enduring fashion.
Now I can see from some of the comments here that many people have completely misundertood Bigelow’s decisions, and are threatening to stop patronizing Bigelow. This is a darn shame, as there have already been way too many misconceptions spawned by the unfortunate Imus/Rutgers Team imbroglio.
Compounding the situation by penalizing innocent advertisers would only cause senseless hardship when Imus has directly confronted his own bigotry and made heartfelt and sincere penitance for his wrong-headed opinions. And the women of the Rutger’s team obviously have faith and trust in his sincerity, and have graciously accepted his apologies and repentance.
For my own peace of mind, I intend to make sure that everyone I know who is a tea drinker will find out the truth in this situation. And I will gladly encourage them to try the many fine Bigelow Teas that I have enjoyed on and off for years. Being a die-hard java junkie, I still enjoy a lovely tea brew as a nice change of pace.
From now on, Bigelow Teas will be at the top of my list.
Thank you for your genuine integrity in this difficult situation, and all the best to you, and the Bigelow family and extended employee family.
Kind regards,
Kendra Wilder
Comment by Kendra Wilder — April 24, 2007 @ 1:15 am