Jack Daniel’s has joined a growing number of brands that have cut their commitments to diversity, after conservative influencer Robby Starbuck threatened to make the company his next target.
Last week, it was Harley Davidson, and before them it was Tractor Supply Co. and John Deere. Starbuck’s method of rallying his online followers to deluge companies social media with complaints about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and donations to social justice organizations has proven effective.
Jack Daniel’s, the whiskey company, is the latest. On August 21, Starbuck posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) “Big news: The next company we were set to expose was Jack Daniels,” but that the company had ended several initiatives and partnerships.
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Starbuck said, “They must have been tipped off by us going through employee LinkedIn pages” and that the company had “just preemptively announced” changes to DEI programs.
Starbuck had obtained an email from Brown Forman (Jack Daniel’s parent company) saying that “the world has evolved” since launching a DEI campaign in 2019.
The company said that since January, it had been evolving the current program to a “strategic framework,” which includes ending its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign and its Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which tracks how large employers treat their LGBTQ+ employees through various policies.
However, Brown Forman claimed that the changes would result in a workplace where “everyone is welcomed, respected, and able to bring their best self to work.”
The email concluded: “We know it will not be easy to navigate the road ahead but please know our deep belief in, and respect for, each of you remains constant. We are continually inspired by your passion for our brands, your dedication to our business and, most importantly, your care for each other.”
Eric Bloem, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s vice president of programs and corporate advocacy, condemned the move in a statement, saying that “Robby Starbuck is so radical the Tennessee Republican party kicked him off the ballot. Companies should not be cowering to a random guy with zero business experience who is a political bully and election denier.”
“These short-sighted decisions also have long-term consequences. Hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments for LGBTQ+ people based on manufactured outrage from MAGA bullies is bad business and leaves their employees and millions of LGBTQ+ allied customers behind,” he continued.
Bloem also pointed out that the shift leaves a large portion of Jack Daniel’s customer base excluded: “With nearly 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding US$1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.”
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