Well, here’s the perfect end to the corporate “pride” month from hell: Even one of Silicon Valley’s wokest giants is being forced to back down in the face of backlash over an LGBT-centric event.
According to CNBC, Google is attempting to distance itself from a drag show that was supposed to cap off the rainbow-hued month of June after Christian employees claimed it discriminated against them.
The company is known to sponsor “pride” month events in its home base of San Francisco and other locales, both catering to employees and the public.
In this case, however, the final event — an official company event, originally — was a drag show at San Francisco gay bar, Beaux, this past Tuesday featuring “Peaches Christ,” described by CNBC as a “popular performer.”
Ending a long day at the drag performance Google has distanced itself from after a religious employee petition circulated. Googlers still showed up, danced and cheered on “Peaches Christ,” who we spoke with. More to come. https://t.co/aMTTJh9Mx5 pic.twitter.com/vzVSZ4L9Jv
— Jennifer E. (@jenn_elias) June 28, 2023
You used to be able to say “only in San Francisco” to stuff like this, but this is probably Wednesday night in Idaho Falls these days.
However, a drag event at a gay bar — featuring a performer whose name is a pun on the Lord and Savior, if one is a Christian — didn’t go over swimmingly.
The outlet reported that “employees noticed the company removed the show from the internal company events page at around the same time a petition began circulating opposing the event, according to internal discussions viewed by CNBC.”
Should more Christians speak out against “pride” month?
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“A few hundred employees signed the petition opposing the drag performance, claiming it sexualizes and disrespects Christian co-workers and accused Google of religious discrimination, according to the petition viewed by CNBC.”
“Their provocative and inflammatory artistry is considered a direct affront to the religion beliefs and sensitivities of Christians,” the petition read.
“The petition states that organizers complained to People Operations, Google’s human resources department, and claimed the venue violates one of Google’s event guidelines, which bans sexuality explicit activity. The petition also demands an apology from organizers and promoters of the event.”
And suddenly, just like that, the drag show was sidelined in a major way.
Google spokesman Chris Pappas said in a statement to CNBC that the event had been planned by an internal team “without going through our standard events process,” because of course that’s what happened.
“While the event organizers have shifted the official team event onsite, the performance will go on at the planned venue — and it’s open to the public, so employees can still attend.”
However, Google confirmed that it would no longer recognize the event as one of the company’s official diversity, equity and inclusion events. It didn’t comment on whether or not the petition from the employees had anything to do with the action, although put two and two together here.
Naturally, CNBC noted that some of Google’s employees were critical of the company’s leadership for caving to the petitioners.
Again, it used to be that you could say “only in San Francisco” would you get people who couldn’t understand why practicing Christians would be offended by an official company LGBT “pride” event featuring a drag queen named — come on here — “Peaches Christ,” but maybe this even confounds some of the fine people of Idaho Falls. (I don’t mean to pick on you, residents of Idaho Falls, who may be uniformly people of common sense, decorum and taste — but some locale had to take one for the team, and you guys seem to fit the Middle America bill. If it makes you feel any better, I found your city beautiful on my one visit there. Pocatello has nothing on you.)
Nevertheless, it’s one of the final events of what’s been a disastrous “pride” month for corporate America. “Pride” months, actually, given that this all began with the Dylan Mulvaney/Bud Light disaster in April and has continued unabated until the final days of the accursed damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t official LGBT “pride” month of June, where companies have had to weigh how visibly they plan to host the rainbow standard.
Go full Mulvaney and you’ll end up getting “BudLighted.” (Yes, that’s actually a neologism now.) Don’t display your “allyship” visibly enough and an army of keyboard warriors are all set to accuse you of homophobia and caving to a pitchfork-wielding mob of troglodytes who think they have the right to educate their children about sexuality and gender identity. (The nerve!)
Bud Light and Target, however, you can see caving pretty easily. In Silicon Valley, though? It’s a sign that conservatives are winning some battles in the war of the rainbow flag — small battles, true, but battles nonetheless, and after decades of nothing but losses. And it’s a sign that one should never underestimate the power that unwavering Christians can wield, even within an organization like Google.
