Conspiracy theorist and pillow-pusher Mike Lindell is doubling down on a controversial pillow price after selling some of his products for $14.88, a figure seen as symbolic for white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, had advertised the discounted price in various social media posts Friday.
“Sleep like a dream with our Standard MyPillow for just $14.88!” the posts said.
Lindell received thousands of comments on X, formerly Twitter, criticizing the price due to its similarity to “1488,” a code used by hate groups.
Among white supremacists, “14” is shorthand for a racist 14-word slogan, while “88” refers to an abbreviation of “Heil Hitler,” since H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
After HuffPost reported on the MyPillow price Saturday, Lindell went on the right-wing Christian TV show “FlashPoint” to defend himself.
“I want everyone to know: No, I am not a Nazi,” Lindell said on Monday’s episode of the program. “This was an attack over the weekend on MyPillow.”
Lindell said he’d “used a bunch of price points” including $14.88, “kind of like Walmart does when they have a sale on a sale.” He suggested that he didn’t know what the price could represent when his company chose it.
But after indicating that he now knew what “1488” symbolized, Lindell decided to promote the price again.
“Some media called me [and said] ‘Are you going to apologize and take it down?’ I said, ‘No, I’m going to double down!’” Lindell said. “The sales are on!”
Since Friday, Lindell and MyPillow have advertised the $14.88 price point several more times, including on Wednesday. In addition to X, graphics showing the price have appeared on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Lindell, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has routinely promoted conspiracy theories falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.
During his appearance on “FlashPoint,” Lindell said his business had come under “attack” because of his attempts to “fix our election platforms.” He suggested that this latest controversy was much of the same.
“It’s another attack on MyPillow because their CEO wants to go to paper ballots, hand-counted,” Lindell said.
“It’s just so crazy what they do to me and what they do to MyPillow,” he added.
A spokesperson for MyPillow did not return a request for comment. Lindell could not be reached for comment.
