Hollywood and entertainment elites on the left are directing their anti-Trump anger and intolerance to two popular fitness brands, but will anybody care?
Chrissy Teigen, Michael Moore, and other celebrities are calling for you to cancel your SoulCycle and Equinox subscriptions because the founder is hosting a political fundraiser for President Trump tomorrow.
Protesting brands with any Trump affiliation has been going on since Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy four years ago. From his namesake Donald Trump line to Ivanka Trump’s fashion line, the left has come out in full force against them and encouraged shoppers to abandon the brands.
The question is whether the swanky cycling chain and its partial owner luxury fitness studio giant, Equinox, will survive this latest boycott? The answer, I think, is yes.
As a Mashable article headline reads “Why is SoulCycle So Popular with Rich, Thin People?” this fitness craze was created by and for the upper crust of urban areas. It’s for people who want the feeling of a church with a community of fitness buffs who can afford the $30 classes. You can pay extra to reserve your favorite pew — err bike — in a class led by the instructor you love.
And that is just fine. If you like it, by all means, do it. That SoulCycle has such a cult following is a market signal that fitness enthusiasts love their service.
Where Teigan and others go wrong is to bully subscription holders into canceling their SoulCycle simply because of the views of the founder. It’s as though suddenly the company has traded rainbow flags for MAGA hats.
SoulCycle put out a statement stating that their company "in no way endorses the political fundraising event and does not support it," but that doesn’t matter.
This response is based on the idea of groupthink. We must all think alike, vote alike and speak alike. Anyone who disagrees politically is shunned from the group and all ties severed with them.
One SoulCycler is not having it and she rightly blasted Teigen on social media saying:
“… Are we SERIOUSLY not using businesses now that don’t have the same political views as us??? No matter who any person or business supports should not affect personal relationships or ruin businesses just because they do not support who you support. It’s our right as Americans to have freedom of choice or there would be 1 political party. Respect their choice and move on with your life like I respect your choice…”
This 33-year-old model is right.
Just like the protests of Chick-fil-A and other brands, SoulCycle is the latest victim of the intolerant left.
Most people going to SoulCycle are probably not going there for a political class, but for community, fun and a good workout.
A company with a track record of profitability, good service to its customers and a good product, can survive such political protests.
Celebs may not like Trump, but they ought to be careful about their campaign to shame anyone who is at all connected to the president. Someone may one day call for the boycott of their movies, music, products, and brands because of their political affiliations.