Backlash & Boycott-Calls Hit North Face After Ad Featuring Drag Queen Inviting Everyone To 'Come Out'
A North Face advertisement featuring a drag queen in rainbow-themed outdoor sports gear has sparked backlash after going viral online. The popular outdoor apparel company has learned nothing from mounting customer boycotts against Bud Light and Target in recent weeks.
"Hi, it's me, Pattie Gonia, a real-life homosexual," drag queen and self-described environmentalist and community organizer Pattie Gonia said in The North Face ad, adding, "Today I'm here with the North Face. We are here to invite you to come out ... in nature with us!"
"We like to call this little tour, the Summer of Pride. This tour has everything: hiking, community, art, lesbians, lesbians making art. Last year we gay sashayed across the nation and celebrated pride," the drag queen continued.
Commenters on the video were mixed. One person said, "Did you learn nothing from Budweiser?"
"Sexual preference doesn't need to be showcased in every single brand to sell stuff," another user wrote.
"Y'all gonna learn reallllll quick. You push an agenda that goes against THE MAJORITY OF your customers values, you gonna lose customers. You're digging your own grave that's what doesn't make sense to me," someone else said.
And here they are marketing their "Out in Nature" line of pride clothing to 2-7 year olds. pic.twitter.com/Ol8TtnV8A2
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) May 24, 2023
The North Face has attached its brand to the drag queen for the second consecutive year. Here are a few posts from Gonia's own Instagram page:
A seemingly endless stream of Twitter users are boycotting the brand.
The North Face is owned by The V.F. Corp., parent to other companies you may want to watch and boycott. pic.twitter.com/5UxAFtOhJp
— ValleForge (@ValleForge1778) May 25, 2023
Add "North Face" to the list of #Boycott.
— Kay Noll (@SisterKay1111) May 25, 2023
( Damn, I like my North Face winter jackets!) pic.twitter.com/Dmd9iSiodC
Beautiful to see. Bud Lite caused the company stock to crash and keep crashing. Keep boycotting companies that push trans agendas. Next is to boycott The North Face. Protest through the wallet. We are not homophobic or transphobic, we are awake and know what you are doing. https://t.co/Pk86MW8vxv
— Jefferson Earl (@JeffersonEarl1) May 24, 2023
North Face, Target, Budweiser, and many other major brands are pushing this. It's very easy to stop the dollar flow into these companies. Boycott them all. https://t.co/wNjLZGklnT
— Hermey (@OldGeezerDude) May 24, 2023
And this all comes as consumers are boycotting Bud Light, Target, and other brands. As we've noted, corporations have freedom of speech under the First Amendment but have to understand if their political ideologies don't align with consumers, then the people also have freedom of speech to voice their opinion. That's why corporations should stay out of identity politics or face boycotts.
