Every June, national brands celebrate Pride Month with colorful displays of solidarity.
This year, expect fewer rainbow logos and less corporate revelry.
Despite a long track record of supporting the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer population, corporations are shrinking budgets and downplaying Pride marketing as President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and transgender rights emerges as a culture-war flashpoint.
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About 2 in 5 corporations are decreasing recognition of Pride Month as executives bow to pressure from the Trump administration, according to Gravity Research, which advises companies on social, political and reputational risks.
Large corporate donors and sponsors are also pulling their support of Pride parades across the country.
One financial executive told Gravity Research part of the backtracking strategy involves being less visible on social media “to help minimize public visibility that could trigger attention.”
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Staying off the Trump’s administration’s radar is another high priority. The White House, which has reversed initiatives supporting LGBTQ+ people, particularly those who are transgender, has shown a willingness to hammer corporations that antagonize it.
“Businesses are afraid to go against this current administration in any way,” said Eve Keller, co-president of United States Association of Prides, a nonprofit that supports nationwide Pride celebrations.
Pride parades hit by defections
San Francisco Pride, one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ parades, lost sponsorships from Comcast and alcoholic beverage companies Anheuser-Busch and Diageo.
PepsiCo, Nissan and Citi are not returning to sponsor NYC Pride this year. Media director Chris Piedmont told USA TODAY on May 5 that one-third of its partners have scaled back, pulled funding or not yet finalized agreements.
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Citi in an emailed statement said its Pride employee resource group is “excited about sponsoring a range of Pride Month celebrations and participating in local parades around the globe.” Citi plans to march in NYC Pride and sponsor and march in at least 30 pride events globally.
Comcast, Anheuser-Busch, Diageo and PepsiCo did not return requests for comment from USA TODAY.
A much larger share of federal contractors – 57% – plan to dial back external engagement out of fear of federal investigations, Gravity Research found. Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, which shuttered its DEI department, dropped sponsorship of Washington, D.C.’s WorldPride 2025, for example.
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Sixty-five percent of executives surveyed by Gravity Research said they were bracing for Pride-related backlash.
“Some companies have anxiety about loss of federal contracts regulatory or governmental blowback if challenged on their DEI expression,” Witeck said. “Many also are honestly confused about what forms this expression can take and whether Pride puts a target on them.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said tariffs and other economic challenges have driven the recent pullbacks and emphasized that most companies are not scaling back this year.
“As companies are getting squeezed, they’re squeezing all the other places where they market,” Ellis said.
Rise and fall of ‘rainbow capitalism?’
Observed every year in June, Pride Month commemorates the 1969 riots following a police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York.
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Along the way, Pride Month became a magnet for “rainbow capitalism” – opportunities for corporations to run major promotions signaling support for LGBTQ+ people in a bid to win their wallets.
These shoppers represent a massive customer base: $1.4 trillion in annual purchasing power, according to a Merrill Lynch analysis from 2023.
At the same time, that customer base is growing. Almost 1 in 10 adults in the United States identifies as LGBTQ+, double the share since 2017, according to the most recent data from Gallup.
The numbers are fastest-growing among young people. Nearly one-quarter of adults in Generation Z – ages 18 to 27 – identify as LGBTQ+, Gallup found.
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“Companies that lead with their values, stay true to them, and are prepared to withstand unfair, uninvited and unwarranted assaults are still with us,” he said. “While the diverse LGBTQ+ communities truly feel risk and fear today, they are just as sensitive to the enduring bonds of friendship and visibility that allies show.”
That’s why, even as some corporations retreat, others are increasing their support, according to Keller.
“They understand that in about five years, we are going to be the most diverse nation on the planet. And everyone will know someone that is queer or nonbinary,” she said.
First Target, more boycotts to come?
Keller and her wife dropped Target and switched from Sam’s Club to Costco after an 11-year membership due to DEI policy changes.
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More than 98% of shares were cast against the proposal. Costco chairman Hamilton “Tony” James and other board members had urged shareholders to reject the proposal.
“We are absolutely making decisions based on those organizations that are not afraid to stand with us, to be visible with us, and that match our values,” Keller said.
Andi Otto’s Minneapolis home has four Targets within a 10-minute drive. Despite the convenience, Otto puts his money toward companies that stick to their DEI commitments, like Costco.
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Otto is Minnesota’s Twin Cities Pride executive director. Twin Cities Pride announced in January that it would drop Target’s partnership after the Minneapolis retail chain rolled back DEI programs.
In an emailed statement, Target said “we will continue to support local Pride events around the country, as we have for many years.”
Target sales suffered in 2023 when some LGBTQ+ shoppers turned away from the company over its removal of Pride items from some stores. After a decadelong track record of featuring LGBTQ+ merchandise during Pride Month, Target said last year it would no longer sell its Pride Month collection in all stores.
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Just over 50 sponsors have committed to this year’s Pride event so far, down from a typical year’s 75, and the organization is still down about $200,000 from last year, according to Otto.
“The festival is still going to go on. The vendors are still going to be there and the people are still going to show up. But it puts huge constraints on what we can do throughout the year and how we can support the community,” he said.
* Original Article:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/05/06/pride-month-defections-dei-backlash/83376447007/