Limbaugh says losing 28 sponsors is like losing a couple of fries. | AP Photos Rush: Sponsors are like french fries

Embattled conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday dismissed reports of dozens of advertisers pulling their commercials from his show, telling listeners, “Everything is fine on the business side. Everything’s cool. There is not a thing to worry about.”

Limbaugh, citing claims he had lost 28 sponsors, said that is “out of 18,000. That’s like losing a couple of french fries in the container when it’s delivered to you in the drive thru. You don’t even notice it.”


“We have three brand new sponsors that will be starting in the next two weeks. Obviously I’m not going to tell you who they are today, but we’ve got three brand new full-fledged sponsors that will be starting in the next two weeks,” Limbaugh said. “Two of the sponsors who have sponsored have asked to return.”

He added, “Whatever you are seeing on television about this program and sponsors and advertisers is just incorrect.”

(See also: Who’s afraid of Rush Limbaugh?)

Since he stirred up a national controversy last week by calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, who testified on Capitol Hill about women’s access to contraception, a “prostitute” and a “slut” on the air, various local and national companies have announced that they have asked radio stations to stop running their ads during “The Rush Limbaugh Show.”

By POLITICO’s latest count, almost 40 companies said in recent days as the social media blitz against the popular radio show showed no signs of easing up that their commercials have stopped playing during Limbaugh’s three-hour afternoon show.

But according to Limbaugh, who kicked off his show Wednesday by saying he would only spend a few minutes addressing the “inside baseball stuff” before moving on to discuss more important issues like politics and Super Tuesday, the press was busy spreading “misinformation” about his show.

“Let me try to explain how this works. Let’s take the claim that we’ve lost 28 sponsors. Sponsors on this program are both local and national. We deal with the national sponsors on this program. We have 600 plus stations. They sell their own commercials. We don’t have anything to do with those sponsors, we don’t get paid by those sponsors, we have no idea who those sponsors are,” he said.

While companies may ask their local radio stations to stop running their ads during a certain time slot, that is not the same thing as canceling their advertising on stations altogether, Limbaugh noted.

“This happens every day. It’s been happening for 23 plus years. And it’s not just me. There are clients, advertiser that tell stations, I don’t want this to run on Beck’s show, I don’t want it to run in Hannity’s, I don’t want it to run on Howard Stern’s. It’s all part of the business,” he said.

The fired-up radio host emphasized that his show has not been hurt financially. “Nobody is losing money here, including us. And that is key for you to understand,” he said.

He also mocked liberals for hoping that the latest controversy over the “slut” comment would mark the end of Limbaugh’s show, declaring that the rumors of him being suspended for a week is “utter BS.”

“The left is so fed up they can’t see straight. They thought they’d have me they thought I would be off the air by now. They can’ understand why I still am,” he said. “It’s just part of an onslaught to try to convince you that this show’s history and our days are numbered. And I’m happy to tell you nothing could be further from the truth.”