Mike Lindell’s new MyPillow award sparks ‘Nazi accusations’

Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, has been accused of lowering the price of some products to a level consistent with a neo-Nazi slogan.

MyPillow posted an ad on X (formerly Twitter) on September 20th that their “Standard Classic MyPillow,” which normally costs between $29.99 and $49.98, was being discounted to $14.88.

The specific price of $14.88 raised eyebrows, as keen observers believe this price is associated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups on the Internet.

The post was viewed over 4 million times and generated nearly 2,000 comments.

When contacted by the New York Post, Lindell denied the allegations, saying, “I have no idea what this is about.”

Lindell added that the 88 cent price is a common price used by companies like Walmart.

Lindell was contacted by Newsweek through his site MyPillow and his platform “Frank Speech”.

Seth Cotlar, a history professor at Willamette University in Oregon, wrote on his Bluesky account that the ad was a “disturbing wink to the Nazis.”

Cotlar added: “I doubt Lindell is behind it or would even understand the reference, but that doesn’t matter.”

This is because, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the number 88 is used in white supremacist circles as an abbreviation for “Heil Hitler.” The letter H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so two Hs together spell “Heil Hitler” to those in the know.

Furthermore, according to the ADL, the number 14 refers to the “14-word slogan,” a phrase coined by white supremacist David Lane.

Lane, who was a member of the white supremacist group The Order, said, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Those in such circles who wish to invoke this slogan do so by citing the number 14.

Whether one was aware of the numerical allusion or not, the pillow advertisement reached neo-Nazi accounts on the Internet.

The ad, which has 8,000 likes on X and 415 likes on Facebook, has been reposted and commented on by openly white racist accounts.

One such account, Balkanomic, reposted the pillow order and wrote, “$14.88? How could you turn down such a great deal?”

Another account called RadioWeimar said: “Let’s gooo MyPillow!”

Previous reporting by Newsweek Mike Lindell has described his path to fame. He has had a remarkable life: he was a college dropout, sold pillows in a mall, became addicted to drugs and finally became a self-made millionaire.

Lindell’s memoirs What are the chances? From crack addict to CEOwhich came out in 2020, details how a viral infomercial he improvised helped his company grow from a $3 million company with 60 employees to a $102 million company with more than 500 employees.

Lindell then lost more than $100 million on MyPillow after his election failure in 2020. His product was pulled from major outlets such as Kohl’s, Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond, citing low customer demand.

In 2016, he became an ardent supporter of Donald Trump and in 2024 was forced to pay five million dollars to computer forensics expert Robert Ziedman after publicly promising to pay that sum to anyone who could disprove that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.

Ziedman proved that Lindell’s account of election rigging was false, and Lindell was forced to hand over the money.

In addition to running MyPillow, Lindell also hosts the website FrankSpeech, which features right-wing pundits such as Diamond, Silk, and Mike Crispi, as well as his own thoughts.

Lindell also reportedly paid for Rudy Giuliani’s plane ticket to the 2024 Republican National Convention as well as his hotel room.

Update 5:35 a.m. EST: This story has been updated to include commentary from Mike Lindell