Anti-Transgender Boycotts Go International: 'Bud Light Moment'

Wickes, a do-it-yourself retailer and garden center that has been in existence for over 50 years in the United Kingdom, is facing backlash and calls for boycotts following a strong statement by the company's chief operating officer in support of LGBTQ+ rights.

The large British supplier of home improvement products is being boycotted in a similar manner that multiple companies in the United States have experienced this year due to their various partnerships and outspoken allegiances with the LGBTQ+ community. A multitude of American companies have experienced economic repercussions due to taking a stance about transgender issues, notably prominent beer brand Bud Light for its partnership with transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney and Target, which advertised "tuck-friendly" swimsuits for transgender women to conceal their private parts.

The row over transgender brand ambassadors is symbolic of a wider debate about the inclusion of transgender women in female issues and spaces. Some say transgender women should be treated the same as other women, while others say they are different and that hard-won women's rights must be protected.

One year after Wickes reportedly had a parade float with a slogan that read "No LGB without the T," Chief Operating Officer Fraser Longden participated in a virtual trans summit on Thursday hosted by PinkNews and sponsored by company EY.

"I don't think I'm ever going to change some of the bigots' minds, I'm never going to win that argument with them," he said during the summit. "So, we were doing [the Pride float] to show support to the community."

Most of the population is in a "sort of slightly ignorant but mostly kind position," Longden added, eventually leading to the company's stock share dropping a reported 5-plus points at one point on Friday.

"At Wickes we are proud to be an inclusive home improvement employer and support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety," a Wickes spokesperson told Newsweek via email on Friday. "We are committed to building a workplace and culture where everyone can feel at home."

Meanwhile, Longden's comments were met with antipathy from social media users. Twitter CEO Elon Musk chimed in with a pithy response containing two exclamation marks.

"Let's hope that Wickes now gets the Bud Light moment it so richly deserves," tweeted Gary Powell, a British campaigner. "This is arrogant, irresponsible, authoritarian, cynical capitalism at its worst."

Sharron Davies, an Olympic medalist swimmer and self-identified "biology believer," found the comments appalling.

"So @Wickes thinks anyone in the Uk that thinks biological females deserve fair & safe sport is a bigot!" Davies wrote. "That's an lawful lot of mums, dads, grandparents, Brothers & of course females who'll be taking their bigoted business else where!"

"This is what happens and you insult 90% of your customers," Twitter user David Vance tweeted, alongside a picture of the company's current stock portfolio. "Worse to come."

Another Twitter user James Esses shared an image of an internal memo purportedly passed out to Wickes staffers, suggesting that some of Longden's comments were "taken out of context." It included recommended staff responses to customers who inquire about the comments he made.

The first summit that was hosted by PinkNews reportedly took place last month and included Wickes and other companies, according to the news outlet—which cited in its report statistics from the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that has worked with the LGBTQ+ community for 25 years, stating that one in four LGBTQ+ members of Gen Z consider themselves to be non-binary.

Meanwhile, Longden maintained his stance even after threats of boycotts.

"The other 10 percent, you know, they're just hot air and they will go and buy a tin of paint in the nearest place to them," he said. "That might have been us before, it might not be us afterwards. And equally, if they do come in and buy a tin of paint and behave that way, they're not welcome in our stores anyway."