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Historic Stonewall Inn to drop Guinness beer over NYC parade sponsorship

Historic Stonewall Inn to drop Guinness beer over NYC parade sponsorship

Update, 7:00 p.m. EDT

Guinness has announced it is dropping it’s sponsorship of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The Stonewall Inn responded that it looks forward to serving Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day and beyond. More here


NEW YORK — New York’s historic Stonewall Inn, site of the Stonewall riots of 1969 which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the modern gay rights movement, will drop Guinness beer from its shelves on Monday following the beer company’s decision to stand by its sponsorship of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Brody LevesqueStonewall Inn, c.2010
Brody Levesque
Stonewall Inn, c.2010

The Stonewall Inn decision was announced Sunday in a statement released by GLAAD.

The New York parade has come under increased pressure for its refusal to allow gay participants to carry signs displaying their LGBT pride.

“GLAAD, Irish Queers, and community advocates will gather at Stonewall Inn (53 Christopher Street) at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, at which time Guinness products will be removed from the bar,” GLAAD said.

On Friday, Heineken announced it had pulled its sponsorship of Monday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City because of the ban on pride banners. “We believe in equality for all,” a Heineken USA spokeswoman said.

But Guinness has been steadfast in its sponsorship of the parade, as has Ford Motor Co..

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“By supporting the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Guinness is telling its LGBT customers and employees that it supports the parade’s discriminatory ban,” said said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio will become the first mayor in decades to sit out the traditional parade on Monday because of the ban.

A similar scenario has played out in Boston, where Mayor Martin Walsh skipped Sunday’s parade because organizers refused to let allow a gay veterans group to displaying a banner identifying that they are gay. In addition to Walsh’s boycott, Sam Adams beer also yanked its sponsorship of the Boston event.

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