Navy Removes Pride Month Posts Amid Right

Companies daring to declare their support for Pride Month—including those that simply adopt a rainbow-colored logo for June—are facing online attacks from right-wing social media users, leading the Navy to delete its Pride posts, as boycott threats against any company deemed "woke" for outreach to the LGBTQ community continue to go viral.

The U.S. Navy reportedly deleted posts celebrating Pride Month from its Twitter and Instagram ... [+] accounts. (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Navy uploaded a Pride-themed Facebook cover photo on June 1, the first day of Pride Month, and replaced it with another photo less than 12 hours later, and it reportedly deleted posts for Pride Month from its Twitter and Instagram accounts.

NASCAR and MLB also tweeted in support of the LGBTQ community—and their posts were quickly filled with replies and quote retweets from angry right-wing users, quick to call for boycotts for companies who celebrate Pride or engage in LGBTQ-inclusive marketing.

The MLB briefly changed its Facebook profile picture to a Pride-themed logo on Thursday, but reverted back to the original on Friday after an onslaught of hateful comments.

Social media users on both sides were quick to notice the MLB's switch: Popular queer content creator Matt Bernstein tweeted, "the brands really aren't hangin w us this year," while conservative commentators celebrated the change.

Some companies still changed their social media icons to Pride-themed logos, including HP, Cisco, Pfizer, Citi and Bank of America.

In recent years, many corporations have adopted rainbow logos as a show of support during Pride Month, which some have praised for increasing the visibility of the LGBTQ community, which others have criticized as insufficient and symbolic, sometimes deeming it "rainbow capitalism."

Navy officials reportedly considered disabling comments on its Pride Month Instagram post to avoid comments from "rude a**holes" and "bigots," according to email correspondence obtained by Fox News.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) practically popped a cork to celebrate what some see as a reduced number of companies marketing Pride support this year, tweeting: "They’ve seen the power of conservative boycotts, and they are running scared. . . We are so back!"

Conservative pundit Mark Levin tweeted to his 3.5 million followers on Friday: "Unlike Nascar, I celebrate America, the Declaration, the Constitution, capitalism, my mom and dad and family, the men and women in our military, our first responders, this month and every month." Other conservative social media users criticized the organization as "woke."

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) praised Nascar's support for Pride Month on Twitter: "Thank you @NASCAR for showing that in America, we value freedom and let Americans be who they are." Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) mocked conservatives threatening to boycott the "woke" Nascar, tweeting: "What is an extreme MAGA snowflake to do? Boo hoo." Some users joked that conservatives shouldn't be surprised about Nascar "turning left," because that's the "whole sport." (Nascar drivers only turn their vehicles left.)

The criticism surrounding MLB comes amid a series of controversies for the organization regarding its Pride Month efforts. The Los Angeles Dodgers first attracted criticism from conservative and religious organizations, including Catholic advocacy group CatholicVote, for inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity that uses religious-themed drag—including a conventful of gay boys in nun's habits—to its Pride Night. The Dodgers uninvited the Sisters, outraging its other LGBTQ partner groups who threatened to pull out of the event if they were not reinstated. The Sisters were later re-invited and the Dodgers issued an apology. Some MLB players—including Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw—have since condemned the Sisters, criticizing them as offensive to Christianity. Former vice president (and non-Catholic) Mike Pence similarly called the Sisters "anti-Catholic bigots" and demanded that MLB apologize to "Catholics across America." In a separate controversy, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass issued an apology Tuesday after sharing an Instagram post urging consumers not to shop at companies that support the LGBTQ community. He was booed by audience members at a game on Wednesday.

Right-wing social media users have ridden a self-congratulatory wave of backlash against Bud Light, which came under fire two months ago for its brief marketing stint with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, to threaten boycotts against any company that markets toward the LGBTQ community. In recent weeks, Target and Kohl's became subjects of criticism for their Pride collections, which include items for children. (Target's boycott was aided by viral misinformation that a "tuck-friendly" swimsuit for transgender women was for children, when these products were only sold for adults.) Other companies, including The North Face and Jack Daniels, sparked backlash for their marketing campaigns that feature drag queens—another community that has been the target of legislation that threatens to restrict where they can perform, based on misconceptions that drag queens, particularly drag story hour events, "sexualize" children. Criticism has extended beyond just the LGBTQ community: Miller Lite angered some for its months-old advertisement for Women's History Month, which criticized the sexist history of beer advertising.

Kohl's Becomes Latest Target Of LGBTQ Culture Wars: Here Are All The Others—From Bud Light To Target (Forbes)

Dodgers Reverse Decision: Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence Included In LGBTQ Pride Night Over Objections (Forbes)