Russell Simmons Blasts Lowe’s, Supports ‘All-American Muslim’

After blasting hardware retailer Lowe's for pulling its ads from 'All-American Muslim,' a TLC reality series that has drawn flack from conservative groups, Russell Simmons took his fight a step further yesterday.

"I am putting my money where my mouth is," the hip-hop mogul tweeted, revealing plans to buy up all of the remaining ad time for the program, which centers on five Muslim families in Dearborn, Mich.

"Just purchased remaining spots for ["All American Muslim"] for next week," Simmons tweeted. "The show is now sold out! Keep your money @lowes and we will keep ours."

He later took to Twitter to explain that the ads were already sold out, and according to the Washington Post, Simmons has not yet officially secured the space, which he'd planned to use to promote his prepaid Visa Rush Card.

Whether Simmons gets the slots or not, he's also sticking it to Lowe's with a petition.

"Dear @Lowes, we got over 21k signatures standing up against ur poor decision," he tweeted Tuesday morning (Dec. 13). "Do right thing: apologize & put $ back in #AllAmericanMuslim."

Lowe's originally withdrew its support following a successful lobbying campaign from the Florida Family Association, a Christian group based in Tampa Bay.

"All-American Muslim' is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law," the group said a letter to the home-improvement giant, the Washington Post reports.

"We understand the program raised concerns, complaints, or issues from multiple sides of the viewer spectrum, which we found after doing research of news articles and blogs covering the show," a Lowe's spokesman said, explaining the company's decision.

Speaking with EW.com over the weekend, Simmons called the chain "Islamophobic" and threatened to organize a boycott.

"This can't happen in America; [Lowe's] needs to fix this immediately," he said. "They can't get away with that, it's ridiculous. There are American principals at stake here. I can't imagine the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, the National Urban League, or any organization that fights for their own rights will allow this to happen to any other group because they know they're next."