David Hogg, a Parkland shooting survivor turned activist, on Wednesday stepped down from the board of his gun control group amid criticism of his pillow entrepreneurship.
The statements: In a statement posted to Twitter, Hogg said he was leaving March for Our Lives after “my recent actions undermined my peers within the movement.”
- Hogg expressed “deepest apologies” to his fellow activists and thanked some of them, whom he said lack his “platform or privilege,” for reminding him that “this work takes unwavering commitment.”
- “I plan to take the time to focus on school, my passions, and my overall well-being,” shared Hogg, who is an undergrad at Harvard University and an avowed practitioner of self-care.
- “With some time and space, I know that I’ll come back to this work more engaged and aligned with the movement as a whole.”
While Hogg did not specify which of his actions had led him to resign, March for Our Lives minutes later went out of its way to disavow his pillow startup, Good Pillow.
- “We want our youth activists, supporters, and followers to know that Good Pillow company is not associated with March for Our Lives,” the group said in a tweeted statement.
- Expressing support for Hogg’s “leave of absence,” March for Our Lives said, “Survivors of gun violence are whole people and we encourage them to find inspiration and passion outside of their trauma.”
The “pillow grift”: Up until just hours before he stepped down from March for Our Lives, Hogg had emotionally defended his plans to launch a rival company to pro-Trump businessman Mike Lindell’s MyPillow.
- “To all those questioning my intentions sincerely f[*]ck off I refuse to feel guilty about wanting to help people and feed myself and pay for therapy,” he tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Cameron Kasky, another Parkland survivor and March for Our Lives co-founder, has joined the Hogg pile-on
- In a series of tweets this week, Kasky has accused his former friend of seeking to cash in on his status as a celebrity activist with a “pillow grift.”
- “Hm,” Kasky said on Wednesday, “I see a lot of support for my pillow grift tweets from people in the Parkland community and people in the gun violence prevention community nationwide.
