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The companies both caved to online pressure from fringe conservative extremists.
Jack Daniel's and Harley Davidson have each announced that they are ending all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts after extremists threatened "anti-woke" boycotts.
The motorcycle company announced Monday that it would be reviewing its sponsorships and pulling out of the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) corporate equality index, while also ensuring that employee training will remain "absent of socially motivated content."
“We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community,” the corporation wrote. “As a company, we take this issue very seriously, and it is our responsibility to respond with clarity, action and facts.”
The whiskey maker also told its employees in an email Wednesday that it would no longer participate in initiatives like the HRC campaign, and that it would end "quantitative workforce and supplier diversity ambitions."
"We will continue to foster an inclusive work environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, and able to bring their best self to work," the message from executive leadership stated. "We know it will not be easy to navigate the road ahead, but please know our deep belief in, and respect for, each of you remains constant."
The email was shared by Robby Starbuck, a far-right conspiracy theorist and failed filmmaker who has used his over half a million followers on X, formerly Twitter, to target companies and bully them into dropping DEI, notoriously succeeding with John Deere and Tractor Supply earlier this year. He took credit for Jack Daniel's decision, claiming it was "the next company we were set to expose."
Starbuck also believes, among other things, that chemicals turn children LGBTQ+ and that the COVID-19 vaccine caused beloved Friends actor Matthew Perry's death (neither are true).
Eric Bloem, Vice President of Programs & Corporate Advocacy at the HRC, said in a statement that "decisions to cut Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives send a clear signal to employees that their employers simply don’t care about equality in the workplace."
"Putting politics ahead of workers and consumers only hurts the same folks that these businesses rely on," Bloem said. "Harley-Davidson’s choice to back away from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fueled by fringe right-wing actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can bully their way into dismantling initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace."
"With nearly 30 percent of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding $1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success," Bloem concluded.
