Harley-Davidson targeted by anti-DEI activist for 'going woke again'
· Toronto Sun
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Less than two years after Harley-Davidson rolled back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a conservative influencer is again targeting the American motorcycle manufacturer, calling on those in the market for a new ride to shop elsewhere.
Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck previously called out the 123-year-old motorcycle brand for embracing a “woke agenda of the very far left” by introducing initiatives like DEI training and the company’s participation in LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Pressure from Starbuck led the company to make a U-turn on these policies, but it seems the influencer isn’t done campaigning against the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker.
Influencer targets company’s new leadership
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, titled “Harley Davidson Goes Woke AGAIN!,” Starbuck claimed the company’s new CEO Artie Starrs and another executive that he had recently hired have a history of supporting DEI initiatives.
“So after an extremely tumultuous period where your brand was torn down and now is seen as weird, woke and weak, you’re going to bring in a CEO that is going to, like, project the masculine identity of the brand right? The pro-America identity of the brand. Well, maybe not so much,” Starbuck said in the video.
He went on to point out that Starrs, who was CEO of Topgolf International Inc., led the sports-entertainment company back when it had a pride group and sponsored an LGBTQ+ golf tournament that raised funds for San Francisco Pride.
“Is this really seeming like the guy to turn around a brand with a wokeness problem?” Starbuck asked.
He then said Starrs was Pizza Hut’s CEO back when the fast-food chain sponsored a program providing anti-racism resources to educators.
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Hiring of exec also questioned
Starbuck also said Harley-Davidson’s new chief brand officer, Marcus Fischer, previously “pushed DEI” back when he was CEO of ad agency Carmichael Lynch, citing past social media posts from Fischer that Starbuck said included one “pushing for more transgender representation in advertising for vehicles.”
After listing some of Fischer’s so-called “woke” posts, Starbuck questioned the motorcycle’s company’s decision to hire Fischer to be the “face of the brand” following “a giant explosion among Harley riders who are angry about the brand going woke.”
“They must think Harley riders are dumb … that you guys won’t leave and go to another brand,” Starbuck said, suggesting that customers should switch to a rival motorcycle brand if the company is going to continue to “force wokeness.”
Company responds
Harley-Davidson defended its CEO in a statement to USA Today .
“Since stepping into the role eight months ago, CEO Artie Starrs has spent time across the country listening directly to our riders, dealers, employees and unions,” the statement said, per USA Today .
“As our dealers and employees can attest, our only agenda is getting back to basics: building great motorcycles, strengthening our network of 500+ U.S. dealers, and supporting a workforce that is proud of the product they put on the road. We have made meaningful improvements and changes, and that work continues.”