Montel Williams Promotes Money Mutual?

Wow. It took me almost two months to need the “Rants and Raves” category. That’s impressive.

But today, I just can’t take it.

I’m not a big fan of television, but this morning, I caught a commercial for Money Mutual, which is one of those payday loan places. Now, it’s not uncommon for these joints to advertise on television, but what surprised me is that this outfit is endorsed by Montel Williams.

It’s no secret how I feel about using a cash advance lender. In case you’re new here, you can read the following two posts to get an idea of where I stand on the matter:

Are Payday Loans a Bad Idea? – Part I

Are Payday Loans a Bad Idea? – Part II

Like it or not, celebrity endorsements lend an air of credibility. That’s why big businesses hire celebrity spokespeople from Hayden Panetierre to Marcia Cross to hawk their products. Celebrity endorsements yield higher sales volumes, and that’s just how the marketing world works in America.

But why, Montel, why?

Montel Williams promotes Money Mutual, a sleazy payday loan joint.

I have an enormous amount of respect for the guy. He served in the United States Navy and kept on chugging despite a nearly lifelong struggle with multiple sclerosis (use of “medical marijuana” notwithstanding). He’s also a spokesman for Partnership for Prescription Assistance, an organization that helps low-income families afford prescription medications.

That’s why it really cheeses me that he would endorse a product that can be so financially damaging to people’s lives. I mean, don’t get me wrong – we all have to make a buck. But I won’t place ads on this (or any other) website for products I don’t believe in, even though I could increase my income by doing so. (You damned sure will never see an ad for a payday loan company on this website.)

You can’t tell me that, as intelligent as Montel is, he doesn’t know how utterly destructive payday loans are. So why would he make the public believe that getting a cash advance loan is a good idea?

I expected better than that from you, Montel.