Daily Wire trolls admit Bud Light and Target attacks are designed to make Pride ‘toxic’ to brands
Far-right commentators Michael Knowles (R) and Matt Walsh admitted that Conservatives calls to boycott brands over inclusivity are designed to make supporting Pride “toxic”. (Twitter / @mattwalshblog / Jason Davis / Getty Images)
Right-wing commentators Michael Knowles and Matt Walsh have admitted that conservatives’ calls to boycott brands over inclusivity are intended to persuade brands to end support for LGBTQ+ people by turning Pride collaborations “toxic”.
Walsh, a host on The Daily Wire, spoke on Twitter about recent calls to boycott Bud Light and Target.
Last week, Walsh tweeted: “The goal is to make Pride toxic for brands. If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that they’ll pay a price.
“It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain. First Bud Light and now Target. Our campaign is making progress. Let’s keep it going.”
During The Daily Wire’s The Michael Knowles Show, the presenter, who earlier this year launched a bitter attack on feminism, just days after calling for “transgenderism” to be “eradicated”, backed Walsh’s comments.
“This has been the point that has been building for months now, which is we need to make that symbol toxic, the Pride flag symbol, we need to make that toxic,” he said. “We need to have companies think twice about it.”
Knowles also claimed that the boycotts had turned companies off working with individuals such as Dylan Mulvaney, who collaborated with Bud Light on her social media channels.
“Now, other companies are going to think twice before sponsoring Dylan Mulvaney because they don’t want to lose $6 billion in market cap in two days,” he went on.
Right-wing attacks on Bud Light
In April, Bud Light faced a backlash after sending Mulvaney a personalised can to help celebrate 365 days of her public transition.
The following weeks saw furious individuals smashing Bud Light displays in stores, musician Kid Rock shooting cans with an assault weapon and bars refusing to sell the brew due to religious beliefs, despite the brand’s marketing vice-president insisting that featuring LGBTQ+ people in its adverts is good for business.
Sales of Bud Light have reportedly fallen since then.
Referring to Bud Light, Walsh posted on Twitter: “The boycott will prove to be one of the most significant conservative victories of this decade.
“It was never just about Bud Light. It was about sending a message.”
Also In April, Walsh confirmed that he won’t be posting videos on YouTube any more because the platform keeps “demonetising” his content due to his continued misgendering of Mulvaney.
Calls for boycott
An increasing number of brands have faced a backlash from conservatives who have attempted to orchestrate boycotts.
Stores such as Target have been criticised for “caving” to right-wing attacks, after it was forced to pull and rearrange the placement of some of its Pride products following anti-LGBTQ+ pressure.
Kohl’s also faced right-wing outrage over its Pride products which saw some customers take to social media to criticise the business and again call for a boycott.
The North Face’s partnership with drag queen Pattie Gonia has a seen social media users say they are adding the outdoor-clothing brand to the list of businesses they would no longer buy from.
Another household name to face the wrath of right-wing fury is adidas, with its Let Love Be Your Legacy collection for Pride 2023, supposedly guilty of “erasing women” and “gaslighting”.
Meanwhile, Lego has seen right-wingers turn against it after internet star Oli London tweeted “Lego turns trans” in reference to its A-Z of Awesome campaign for Pride.
