State Farm Pulls Rob Schneider "Richmeister" Commercials After Backlash Over Actor's Stance Against Mandatory Vaccines

Father of two lobbied against law in California requiring parents meet with doctors before being granted exemptions from state requirements

By Natalie Finn Sep 25, 2014 12:43 AMTags
Rob SchneiderYouTube

State Farm may always be there but, going forward, Rob Schneider won't be there with it.

The insurance company has pulled its Discount Double Check commercial starring Schneider in "Richmeister" mode from his Saturday Night Live days, the move coming in response to now-viral backlash over Schneider's past outspokenness against mandatory childhood vaccinations.

In 2012, the actor prominently lobbied against a bill proposed by the California state legislature (later signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown) that requires parents to meet with doctors before getting exemptions from state vaccination requirements. And apparently his critics' memories are long ones, because the State Farm ad ended up becoming fodder for a video that blasted the Deuce Bigalow and his views.

First up, watch the actual State Farm commercial:

And now see the video posted last Friday and now making the rounds that states: "Amusing advertisement, except for one thing: Rob Schneider is a vocal opponent against vaccinations, claiming they kill and cause permanent injuries. Diseases that were once all but eradicated are starting to reappear at alarming rates, thanks to a single, fradulent, debunked study. It's time to make a stand. Let State Farm know that you don't agree with endangering public health."

(Some images at the end of the video may be disturbing.)

The decision to pull the commercial came earlier this week, and State Farm's director of public affairs, Phil Supple, said in a statement obtained today by E! News: State Farm advertising is intended to inform and entertain. 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."

In response, Schneider tweeted yesterday, "'If the Freedom of Speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter,' George Washington." And today he retweeted a fan's link to an article from March 2013 on VistaMagLive.com titled "No Laughing Matter: Rob Schneider on Mandatory Vaccinations." 

"Vaccines have been glorified as the be all end all for diseases, and frankly it's just a theory," Schneider, who's now a father of two, is quoted in the post. "The National Institute for Health and the World Health Organization tell you that vaccines can be credited for the significant reduction in childhood mortality rates, but that's not what did it...The idea behind science is that it should question everything; not question everything except vaccines."