Since its launch at the beginning of this month, the Woolworths Pride Month campaign in support of the LGBTQIA+ community has been at the centre of controversy, with many customers threatening to boycott the retail store.
They announced their campaign on Twitter with the following tweet, “It’s International Pride Month! At Woolies, we celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community year-round, and we’re continuously working to better serve our LGBTQIA+ people and customers.”
It’s International Pride Month! 🏳️🌈
— Woolworths SA (@WOOLWORTHS_SA) June 1, 2023
At Woolies, we celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community year-round, and we’re continuously working to better serve our LGBTQIA+ people and customers. pic.twitter.com/8hcf0uOzOi
Social media has been abuzz for days since the announcement.
While there have been those against the campaign, others have stood firmly behind it.
On Wednesday, the GOOD party posted a tweet in support of the campaign saying: “We note the campaign of hate being waged against @WOOLWORTHS_SA for supporting LGBTQ+ rights this Pride Month. We join other organisations who are standing with Woolworths. Hate will not silence or suppress what is right. LGBTQ+ rights are human rights!”
🌈 We note the campaign of hate being waged against @WOOLWORTHS_SA for supporting LGBTQ+ rights this Pride Month.
— GOOD (@ForGoodZA) June 6, 2023
We join other organisations who are standing with Woolworths.
Hate will not silence or suppress what is right.
LGBTQ+ rights are human rights! pic.twitter.com/cnSekLIaCo
Of course, this statement has received mixed responses with some followers vowing to unfollow the party.
@Ryan_Vermeulen simply tweeted, “Unfollowed and vote gone.”
While @Eish1994 just posted this screenshot.
However, there were those who supported them.
@theZAshowcase said, “Half these people in the comments don't speak for us AT ALL. Thanks for standing up GOOD.”
Well done, GOOD!
In response to all the negative feedback, Woolies took to Twitter to release a statement saying, “A reminder that our community guidelines don't allow for hate speech or discrimination.
“Our values are firmly in favour of kindness and inclusivity, and we do our best to actively moderate our comment section to reflect that.
“Every person has the right to dignity regardless of their identity – this is a fact enshrined in our constitution. It is not up for debate.”