Rob Schneider ad dropped due to his anti-vaccination statements

Rob Schneider ad dropped due to his anti-vaccination statements
(Image credit: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

It's the Rob-ster, getting his State Farm ad pulled.

The insurance company is yanking a commercial starring comedian Rob Schneider following complaints from pro-vaccination groups, The Hollywood Reporter says. Schneider has long been a vocal critic of vaccinations, telling Vista Magazine ("Canada's Favourite Health Magazine") in 2013: "The idea that vaccines don't injure people is a fallacy. Two billion dollars have been paid out to people who have been vaccine injured or died in the United States. This is a real thing."

On Tuesday, Schneider turned to Twitter to express his anger. "If the Freedom of Speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter," he tweeted, quoting George Washington.

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State Farm said in a statement that because its advertising is "intended to inform and entertain," it was for the best to ditch the polarizing former Saturday Night Live star. "This particular ad has unintentionally been used as a platform for discussion unrelated to the products and services we provide. With that, we are working to remove the ad from our rotation at this time."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.