Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Women were disproportionately hurt by Big Tech layoffs, writers sue Meta and OpenAI, and an expert analyzes where companies went wrong during Pride Month. Have a thoughtful Tuesday.
– Staying strong. This year’s Pride Month was unlike any we’ve experienced in recent years. Rather than a time for celebration, the month of June became “another battleground,” says Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of GLAAD.
Nothing epitomized that more than the Bud Light controversy at AB InBev. The beverage giant in April sent a promotional package to influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney is a trans woman, and the video she posted with her beers incited outrage among right-wing Bud Light customers, who started boycotting the brand. Sales plunged. Heads rolled at Anheuser-Busch. And Mulvaney says she was left to handle the fallout and hate campaign by herself, without support from the company that put her in that situation.
In a new episode of Fortune’s podcast Leadership Next, Ellis analyzes what went wrong. The problem wasn’t only a right-wing boycott, an unfortunate hazard of doing business these days, says Ellis. It was AB InBev’s response. “Nobody’s happy with what Anheuser-Busch did,” she says. “They lost across the board. They’ve lost their red audience. They’ve lost their progressive audience. And they’ve lost market share.”
She compared the company’s response to decision-making at Nike, which also featured Mulvaney in online promotions and faced backlash. The athletic apparel company responded by saying on its social media channels that “hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted.”
“When you fluctuate, they see an opening,” Ellis says of online backlash.
That lesson played out at Disney in Florida under CEO Bob Chapek and later Bob Iger, the GLAAD exec adds. Chapek’s original wishy-washy response to anti-LGBTQ legislation in the state allowed GOP politicians to gain power in the clash. Iger’s more forceful decision-making planted a stake in the ground and told employees and customers what Disney stood for.
“If you stand up,” Ellis says, “you win.”
Listen to the full episode here.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe
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- Layoff inequity. Women were disproportionately hit by Big Tech's layoffs over the past several months, according to a new analysis. Forty-five percent of laid-off employees were women, a share that's higher than women's representation in the tech industry. Axios
- Military holdup. The Department of Defense responded to the overturn of Roe v. Wade by pledging to provide time off and fund travel for service members who must go out of state to access abortion. Since then, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has blocked promotions for generals and admirals. Now his campaign threatens to interrupt succession planning among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. New York Times
- Personal essay. A year ago, the Wall Street Journal published a story claiming that Elon Musk had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, who used to be married to Google cofounder Sergey Brin. The attorney and investor has now written an essay about how that allegation, which she denies, affected her life. "I can’t think of anything worse for a professional woman’s career than publicly shaming her for a sexual act," Shanahan writes. People
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Time promoted Kristin Matzen to chief communications officer. Audible promoted Rachel Ghiazza to chief content officer.
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- Behind the scenes. Amanda Staveley has helped broker some of the biggest deals in sports on behalf of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Recently, the British executive with strong connections in Middle East banking was a key force behind the truce in professional golf between the PGA tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Financial Times
- No laughing matter. Comedian Sarah Silverman is one of several writers suing Meta and OpenAI, alleging the platforms used their content to train A.I. models. The class-action suits claim writers have not been given consent, compensation, or credit for their work. Fortune
- Not enough. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which went into effect in the U.S. late last month, is far from enough to make workplaces truly "family-friendly." Guaranteed paid leave, subsidized childcare, and universal pre-K would go much further to support working parents. Bloomberg
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Vanna White isn't just Wheel of Fortune's past—she should be its future Variety
What Esther Perel taught me about marital discomfort The Cut
The story of the Diablo Cody Barbie movie we almost got GQ
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"We either sink with the ship, or we jump and hope to find a lifesaver. And really that lifesaver was ourselves."
—Jessica Simpson on buying her brand back from its former owner
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