We've seen this before, when corporations stop funding a seditionist politician or pull advertising from hateful, right-wing media only to quietly restore it after a certain interval. Popular Information follows the money when it comes to 25 corporations' mercenary way of "supporting" LGBTQ+ rights during Pride Month while backing opponents of those rights:
In 2023, conservative activists have advanced the theory that major corporations are pushing a radical, pro-LGBTQ agenda onto the country.
For example, Anheuser-Busch sent trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney a few beers, including one with her face on it, and paid her to post a 60-second video promoting a contest. Anheuser-Busch spends about $7 billion each year on marketing. This Mulvaney promotion was as a nominal expenditure to increase the brand's appeal to LGBTQ people in the United States, a community with more than $1 trillion in annual purchasing power.
But many on the right took the Mulvaney promotion as proof that Anheuser-Busch has gone "woke." Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), posted a video announcing that he was “going to throw out every single Bud Light we have in the fridge.” Pundits Charlie Kirk and Matt Walsh declared that they would “put Budweiser out of business.” The musician Kid Rock published a video of himself donning a MAGA hat and opening fire on three cases of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle. The escalating rhetoric has coincided with a surge of violent threats against LGBTQ people.
But while major corporations are continuing to spend token amounts on marketing to the LGBTQ community, a Popular Information investigation reveals the same companies are spending millions backing anti-LGBTQ politicians. The investigation found that 25 corporations have donated $13.5 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians since January 2022...
Here are the 25 corporations reviewed (click to enlarge):
The article goes into detail on several of the major contributors, and the mealy- mouthed reactions from some of those corporations (when they chose to respond) is a case study in CYA "yes, but" rationalizations. Of course, we shouldn't expect an entity that exists only to make money to have a moral center and act in a socially responsible manner. They market "Pride" to access that $1 trillion annual purchasing power, but they also "engage" with anti-LGBTQ+ bigots for other mercenary reasons. If they are supporting the bigots, as these 25 corporations do, they should have the decency to drop their hypocritical "Pride" p.r. campaigns. But, don't hold your breath.
(Image: "Pride for sale"/ Marvin Joseph, Washington Post)
