Democrats have found another company to boycott.
Last month it was Home Depot, even though its President Trump supporting co-founder had retired all the way back in 2002. Now, it’s bougie millennial gyms Equinox and SoulCycle, because although the businesses have disavowed Trump, investor Stephen Ross is throwing a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection campaign.
When news of this week’s fundraiser came out, celebrities from model Chrissy Teigen to actor Billy Eichner called for a boycott of Equinox, the larger of the two businesses.
the gym is my personal hell but if you’re a member of Equinox perhaps it is time to say peace(out)-inox ayyyyy I’m still sick yes but fuck equinox https://t.co/SJBsBNXT8Q
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) August 7, 2019
Just contacted @Equinox to cancel my membership after many years. Money talks, especially with these monsters. If it’s too inconvenient for u to trade one LUXURY GYM for another, then you should be ashamed. (No disrespect to the many wonderful employees at my local Equinox). Bye!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) August 7, 2019
The push to boycott these gyms is ironic, considering just how social justice-oriented Equinox and SoulCycle are. Neither company is short on good vibes or corporate activism.
SoulCycle, founded by two women, eliminates office hierarchy by having all employees work the front desk, and it gives employees paid time off for charity work. Like Equinox, it launched a campaign for Pride Month, as Equinox raised money for House Lives Matter, an organization “created for and by the House Ball Community, comprised of sexual and gender minority people of color (LGBTQ and gender non-conforming).”
Eichner acknowledged the irony, tweeting, “There are a handful of billionaires who own everything and many support Trump. Practically speaking, it’s probably impossible to completely avoid them. But considering @Equinox’s clientele and how they’ve pandered to us, this one feels particularly hypocritical and shameful.”
He has a point, but the fact is that the corporate hypocrisy never ends. The D.C.-based chain &pizza has also been funded by Ross, and it was one of 180 companies that signed a recent petition against anti-abortion policies that Trump supports.
The Equinox-SoulCycle boycott boxes liberals into a crazy level of purism: Either find a gym that has never taken money from a Trump donor, or forever stay at home in your Lululemon leggings. And considering some of its founder’s remarks, those might not be so safe either.
