Seattle Pride Rejects Amazon Sponsorship

As of Tuesday, March 22, Amazon is no longer a sponsor of the Seattle Pride parade. 

Seattle Pride rejected Amazon sponsorship citing the company’s donations to anti-LGBTQ causes and politicians as well as the company’s attempt to brand the parade. 

‘Seattle Pride Parade Presented by Amazon’

In exchange for a donation of $100,000, Amazon requested, among other things, naming rights for the festival. It wanted the parade to be called “Seattle Pride Parade Presented by Amazon.”

Among the other requests: allowing Amazon Business executives to give speeches at the parade as well as prime billing for the corporate logo. 

“Pride isn’t for sale at any time of the year, but especially the month of June when our community comes together to celebrate,” said Krystal Marx, Seattle Pride’s executive director, to NBC News.

We have decided to not partner w/ Amazon for the 2022 Seattle Pride Parade due to various anti-LGBTQIA+ decisions they have made, including the funding of politicians who oppose the Equality Act. Read our full statement for more: https://t.co/D0vaRvnLDR#WeArePride #NoFakeAllies pic.twitter.com/s5a9O3k1bx

— Seattle Pride (@OurSeattlePride) March 22, 2022

Putting a Stop to ‘Rainbow Washing’

In a statement, Seattle Pride said, “we are reviewing our corporate partnerships to ensure our partners’ words and actions align with our organization’s values. It is critical they actively support – and do not harm – our community not only on parade day, but throughout the year.”

Talking about the parade’s growth over the years from its modest beginnings, the statement went on to target the corporatisation and “rainbow washing” of Pride, stating, “This growth has also unfortunately attracted corporate entities who participate as a token gesture – often referred to as ‘rainbow washing’ – so as to appear publicly as doing the ‘right’ thing, despite harming our community with blatant, subtle, and sometimes unintentional words and actions throughout the rest of the year.”

“If there is a corporate logo next to ours, we must confirm they have earned that honor – and with it, their responsibility to the queer and trans communities,” it continued.

According to an Amazon spokesperson, “Amazon engages with policymakers and regulators on a wide range of issues that affect our business, customers, and employees. That does not mean we agree with any individual or political organization 100 percent of the time on every issue.”