Mike Lindell / My Pillow Guy

About

Mike Lindell, also known as the “My Pillow Guy,” is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of My Pillow, Inc. Although best known for his product MyPillow and its commercials, he became a well-known name during former President Donald Trump’s time in office where he was an avid supporter and chairman of his campaign. After the storming of the Capitol in early 2021, as well as his close ties and outspoken support for Trump, Lindell’s perpetuation online of voter fraud claims in the 2020 election resulted in numerous retailers dropping his products from their stores and eventually being banned from Twitter in late January. In memes, his resemblance to the character Uncle Jack from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has also made him known in meme culture.

Career

After dropping out of the University of Minnesota not long after starting, Lindell launched a slew of small businesses in Minnesota. During this time, Lindell was addicted to cocaine, crack and alcohol, which ultimately led to a number of financial troubles and his wife divorcing him.^[1]

In 2004, Lindell invented the MyPillow and slowly grew the company into a well-known business and became a multimillionaire. After running ads with false claims of his product alleviating snoring, fibromyalgia, migraines and other medical conditions in 2016, MyPillow was sued in California by the Alameda County Superior Court and later settled for around $1 million. The following year, the BBB revoked its accreditation of the company and lowered its rating to an F based on complaints from consumers.^[2]

During Donald Trump’s presidency in 2016, Lindell met with him and became an avid supporter and eventually close friends with him, attending several events, debates and fundraisers during the early years of Trump’s term. Lindell went on to become a frequent speaker at Trump’s events and rallies, and called Trump the “the greatest president in history” at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference.^[3]

In mid-2020, Lindell was reportedly considering an entrance to politics and was encouraged by Trump to run for governor of Minnesota in 2022.

Controversies

Due to Lindell’s close ties with Trump and the many contentious opinions and claims he’s made over the years, Lindell has been embroiled in several controversies in the last few years.

Promotion of Unproven COVID-19 Cure

A frequent associate of Trump during the coronavirus pandemic, Lindell promoted the use of oleandrin, a plant extract, as a cure for COVID-19 during White House meetings with the president or in public appearances, such as cable news interviews. It was later discovered that Lindell was a board member and had a financial stake in Phoenix Biotechnology, which makes oleandrin.^[4] Due to no scientific evidence supporting his claims and the plant being poisonous in low doses, Lindell was criticized for his promotion of the substance as a cure for the coronavirus.

Kyle Rittenhouse Bail

In November 2020, news surrounding Lindell’s $50,000 donation to The Fight Back Foundation Inc. that went on to fund the bail of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the Kenosha shootings, led to more criticizing him for helping to bail the controversial figure. Lindell later released a statement that said he was unaware of how his money was being used and didn’t know of the bail fund.^[5]

2020 Election Fraud Claims and Storming of the Capitol Comments

With close ties to Trump where he also perpetuated many of his claims during the course of his presidency, Lindell was a significant player in supporting and helping to finance the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election due to alleged voter fraud. Lindell made several appearances and comments on social media, including a call for the imprisonment of some Georgia voters, Trump to impose martial law in various states, as well as generally claiming that the election was stolen from Trump.

On January 6th, 2021, Lindell sponsored various events that challenged the election results and encouraged attendance to the Save America rally where he spoke that occurred shortly before the storming of the Capitol. After the riots, Lindell continued to perpetuate conspiracy theories that Antifa was responsible for the attack, in addition to foreign powers allegedly rigging voting machines to steal the election.

Twitter Ban and MyPillow Boycott

After his comments and advancement of various conspiracy theories related to voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, several retailers began dropping his products from their stores with many online calling for a boycott of MyPillow products.^[6] On January 25th, 2021, Twitter permanently banned Lindell from its platform due to his claims that Trump won the election, which violated the company's civic integrity policy.

After the ban, Lindell was interviewed about his banishment from Twitter where he said he would continue his campaign to prove election fraud had taken place, reportedly spending around $2.5 million already.^[7]

Related Memes

Search Interest

External References