Sponsors love rainbows until doing real work gets involved. They slap logos on floats, pump cash into parades, and post glossy allyship on June 1. Then they vanish.
This year, corporate sponsors ghosted Pride events faster than a closeted politician in an election year. Organizers announced cancellations. Cities scaled back. Brands blamed “safety concerns.” But let’s name it: These corporations folded under pressure. Far-right blowback scared them, and instead of standing with the LGBTQ+ community, they sprinted for the exit.
No explanation can excuse that.
If a company can’t show up when people face real threats, then it never stood with us in the first place. It stood with marketing. It stood with visibility, not vulnerability. And visibility without courage means nothing.
Stop Pretending Pride Needs Sponsors
Pride started as a riot. Not a brand partnership.
No one threw bricks at Stonewall for the chance to snag a Gatorade logo on a banner. They fought for survival, for dignity, for breath. Pride lived in alleyways, church basements, dance floors, clubs, and marches where no one handed out coupons. We showed up because we had each other. Not because someone handed us a branded stress ball.
And here’s where the mirror turns: some Pride organizers helped the shift to commercialization happen. Some traded people for polish. They built events that looked good on Instagram but felt hollow on the ground. They let brand money dictate the vibe. They chased clean, “family-friendly” images that erased the drag performers, trans folks, sex workers, and fierce femmes of color who built the movement.
So now, when those same brands flake out, we see the cost.
Kick Cowardice Out of the Parade
Corporations can’t lead this movement. They never did. But we can hold them accountable.
Stop calling them allies. Call them what they are—cowards.
Stop begging them back. Build something stronger.
Fill the gaps with local vendors, resource organizations, community mutual aid, and unapologetic queer joy. Fund drag shows with grassroots dollars. Pack parks and streets with families, elders, youth, and fierce-as-hell trans folks who never needed a bank logo behind them.
Queer people never relied on approval before. We don’t need it now.
Bring Pride Back to the Street
Let’s end the illusion: Rainbow capitalism won’t save us.
Community will.
We can’t let sponsors define our visibility. We can’t let glossy campaigns erase the mess, the grief, the joy, and the power that make Pride real. This moment calls for more than just celebration. It demands reckoning. And resurrection.
Let’s build Pride that scares cowards again.
Let’s build Pride that honors its roots—loud, sweaty, righteous, and bold.
About the Author:
RJ Johnson (they/them) is a trans behavior change marketer. They create fun, engaging, and strategic content. With over six years of experience in marketing, communications, and content management, they have touched just about every aspect of the field. RJ is a lifelong learner with an M.B.A. from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a B.F.A. in Creative Writing from Stephens College. RJ is a content strategist at SE2, a behavior change marketing agency, previously worked in the health insurance sector, and is passionate about aiding in the fight for equal opportunities and advocacy. They approach everything from a lens of intersectionality and community.
