Companies are getting more backlash for their Pride campaigns. Why does it matter?
Even as cities like Danville, Illinois, hold their first Pride celebrations, companies are receiving more pushback than they have in recent years about their Pride campaigns. Reginald Hardwick/Illinois Newsroom
Many brands, like in recent years, have gotten in on the Pride action with merchandise, ads, and more, but what’s been different this year is the level of blowback some brands have gotten over that. For example, when the Bud Light beer brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year, the backlash from conservatives built up quickly. Many vowed to boycott parent company Anheuser-Busch, but when the company moved to distance itself from its partnership with Mulvaney, it riled up parts of the LGBTQ community who felt betrayed by the lack of support.
To help us unpack what’s going on, other examples of this backlash, and how it all fits into the history of corporate Pride, we were joined by an LGBTQ advocate, the owner of an LGBTQ newspaper and an Illinois state lawmaker.
GUESTS:
Tracy Baim
Former Publisher, Chicago Reader | Owner, Co-Founder, Windy City Times
Brian Johnson
CEO, Equality Illinois
Rep. Kelly Cassidy
D-Chicago
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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