Mike Rowe Faces Backlash for Walmart Ad

Mike Rowe, the frequent narrator for Ford, Caterpillar, Motorola, and Lee’s Jeans, has provided his voice to Walmart. The former “Dirty Jobs” host narrates a new and inspiring Walmart commercial that, because of its glorifications of work in factories, has been unpopular among his fans.

Since the commercial aired during the Olympics, Rowe has received a large amount of criticism. Many people reached out to Rowe expressing their disappointment with him and questioning his decision to partner with Walmart. On Sunday, Rowe took to his Facebook page to respond to those who were upset about him partnering with Walmart for the ad. His comments were frank.

“Honestly Kevin, who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?” Rowe asked one man who questioned him. “[D]ozens of American factories are going to reopen all over the country. Millions of dollars will pour straight into local economies, and hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing positions will need to be filled. That’s a massive undertaking packed with enormous challenges, and I want to help,” he added. “Isn’t this the kind of initiative we can all get behind?”

The commercial ends with Rowe announcing the retail giant’s plans to invest $250 billion over the next 10 years to help create new manufacturing jobs in America. Watch the 60-second ad below: