The North Face shows its support for drag queen & LGBTQ+ people after calls for boycott

The North Face became the latest company attacked by the right for advertising to LGBTQ+ people for Pride Month, but unlike some other giant corporations, they are standing by their brand partner and issued a statement supporting LGBTQ+ equality.

Conservatives – including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) – were outraged last week that the outdoors-themed drag queen Pattie Gonia made a video announcing The North Face’s “Summer of Pride” event on Instagram, part of a brand partnership. The video didn’t include any nudity, sex, or coarse language, but that didn’t stop the right from getting angry at it.

Related:

Heroic Target employees kick out anti-LGBTQ+ bigot complaining about “Satanic” Pride gear

When asked if she supports Satanism and “Pride propaganda,” the employee nods and says she supports “both.”

“Big name brands sexually targeting children makes me want to buy all generic brand clothing now,” Greene wrote in response to the video, adding the hashtag #BoycottGroomers, an accusation that LGBTQ+ people are child sex abusers.

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“Well, I guess North Face wanted to get a taste of what conservatives did to Bud Light and Target,” Boebert wrote. “How many times do we have to explain to the woke marketing departments at these disgusting companies that America is not a nation of degenerates?”

But, unlike Bud Light and Target, The North Face isn’t backing down.

“The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable, and safe place for all,” the company said in a statement. “We are honored and grateful to support partners like Pattie Gonia who help make this vision a reality.”

“Creating community and belonging in the outdoors is a core part of our values and is needed now more than ever. We stand with those who support our vision for a more inclusive outdoor industry.”

The North Face turned off comments on their Instagram posts about the Pride Month event but comment sections on other posts are full of anti-LGBTQ+ messages.

In April, the right attacked Bud Light for its brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which involved a short Instagram video as well.

Since then, conservatives posted videos as they dumped out Bud Light beer and shot up cases of Bud Light with semiautomatic rifles. Elected Republicans claimed that Mulvaney was a pedophile (without any evidence at all) and said that the global balance of power would be upset by Mulvaney’s Instagram video. Others said that they were boycotting Bud Light, often switching to other LGBTQ+-friendly brands.

Anheuser-Busch, which owns Bud Light, released tepid statements about how the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people” but did not stand up for Mulvaney or LGBTQ+ people more generally.

Throughout the month, Target has been facing attacks from the right over its Pride Month displays. Conservatives have been filming themselves berating employees, and Target responded by moving the displays to the back of the store at many of their locations.

In a statement, GLAAD praised The North Face.

“The North Face is following hundreds of other businesses that include and stand with LGBTQ people and our allies,” said GLAAD CEO and president Sarah Kate Ellis. “At a time when over 20% of Gen Z is LGBTQ and a supermajority of Americans support LGBTQ people, The North Face’s decision should be a signal to other companies that including LGBTQ people and allies is better for business than siding with a small number of violent extremists who want to keep LGBTQ consumers and employees invisible.”