recently came under fire for their efforts to appeal to the LGBTQ+ community, only to come under more fire when they tried to backpedal.
“We stand by our values and we’re a highly inclusive organization. And we think the bulk of America is as well,” Gennette said. Anheuser-Busch didn’t respond to questions from the AP about its Pride sponsorships. Target said its focus is “moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community.”A majority of negative social media posts about Pride this year are attacking companies for being “woke” and accusing them of sexualizing or grooming children, says RILA Global Consulting, which tracks more than 100 million websites and social media pages per day.
Kohl’s, Lego and Southwest Airlines also have taken heat for their LGBTQ-friendly marketing in recent days.U.S. sales were down Suzanne Ford, the executive director of San Francisco Pride, said she understands that companies are facing difficult decisions but they also know that the LGBTQ+ community is watching very closely this year.
“We don’t just blindly say, ‘Oh sure, we’ll take your money.’ We want to make sure the companies have a clear path to why they want to participate,” Legere said.