Pressure from the Trump administration to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and economic uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs led to a cutback in corporate sponsorship of Pride events nationwide.
Mastercard is the latest to pull sponsorship for the New York City Pride March on June 29, joining PepsiCo, Nissan, Citi Bank and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Other Pride events in recent weeks have lost key sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch InBev in St. Louis and beverage company Diageo in San Francisco. Diageo will sponsor other U.S. Pride events this year through its Smirnoff brand, a spokesman told the Journal.
Several Pride organizations across the U.S. reportedly said last month that corporate sponsors have either dropped out or reduced financial support for Pride celebrations this year because of political and economic pressure. Since Inauguration Day, Trump has sought to end DEI initiatives in the federal government while encouraging corporations to pull back such policies.
Eve Keller, co-president of United States Association of Prides, a nonprofit that supports Pride event organizers across the country, told the Journal that fear of political backlash has even led some companies that continue supporting Pride organizations to ask that their names and logos be removed from official displays and apparel.
Mastercard said it would still participate in the New York City march, as well as other events.
"Mastercard is a longstanding supporter of the many communities of which our employees are members, including the LGBTQIA+ community globally," a spokeswoman told the Journal.
A Nissan spokesman told the Journal the automaker's decision not to renew came amid a review of its marketing and sales spending.
Two-thirds of last year's NYC Pride sponsors have agreed to renew their sponsorships, but the rest remain in negotiations to return, have scaled back their funding, or have said they are not sponsoring this year, a spokesman for the group told the Journal.
A Gravity Research survey of 49 senior company leaders conducted March 27 to April 4 found that 39% plan to decrease their recognition of Pride events this year, up from 9% from last year, the Journal reported.
The survey showed concerns about potential DEI investigations by the federal government as the primary reason brands have pulled back on Pride marketing, followed by potential backlash from conservative activists and consumers.
Anheuser-Busch, which had sponsored the St. Louis PrideFest for more than 30 years, saw its Bud Light brand lose more than $1 billion after its 2023 association with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
But Target, which was boycotted over its Pride merchandise last year, will return as a platinum-level sponsor of this year's NYC Pride march, according to the Journal. Still, Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000, faced a backlash when it announced earlier this year that it's ending its DEI program.
Minneapolis-based Target, which donated between $50,000 and $70,000 each year to Twin Cities Pride, was asked not to sponsor the event this year. Twin Cities Pride Executive Director Andi Otto told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that Target's decision to curtail its DEI program was "the breaking point" that pushed festival organizers to temporarily cut ties with the corporation.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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