June is International Pride Month, and retail brand Woolworth has come out in full support of the LGBTQIA+ community with their latest Pride campaign.
On Friday, they launched the campaign on social media, Tweeting: “It’s International Pride Month! It Woolies, we celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community year-round, and we’re continuously working to better serve our LGBTQIA+ people and customers.”
They continue by stating what they have done in the space in the last year. “We established an internal W.Pride task team to give voice to and address issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. We’ve adapted our working wardrobe policy to recognise everyone’s unique preferences to style, cultural or religious needs and gender identity or expression. We’ve created a range of Pride merchandise and are donating funds to LGBTQIA+ support organisations.”
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
While many embraced the campaign and took to Twitter to express their support, others slammed the retail giant’s campaign and went as far as calling for a boycott against the retail company.
After push-back from many social media users, Woolies went on to block some users who spoke up against them.
HennieK was one of those people and took to the app to share the information. @HennieKotze9 tweeted, “I was blocked by @WOOLWORTHS_SA for suggesting they stick to retail in stead of politics. Well, well, well. Me AND my wallet are now blocked. Woolies will never see a cent of my money again.”
I was blocked by @WOOLWORTHS_SA for suggesting they stick to retail in stead of politics.
Well, well, well.
Me AND my wallet are now blocked. Woolies will never see a cent of my money again. pic.twitter.com/PWUgZph7EJ
In response to all the negative comments, Woolies tweeted with the following statement, “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.”
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.
— Woolworths SA (@WOOLWORTHS_SA) June 4, 2023
“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,” tweeted Woolies.
This, however, did not sit well with one Twitter user, Joe Soap, responding, “But Why are you blocking anyone that even disagrees mildly with your current campaign ??? I’ve seen tons of Twitterati complaining of being blocked, I’ve seen their tweets in question and most aren’t near hate speech!”
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.
— Woolworths SA (@WOOLWORTHS_SA) June 4, 2023
“What about freedom of speech enshrined in our Constitution ??? Easy to shut that down by blocking right …..” adds Joe Soap.