Harley-Davidson reverses course on DEI initiatives
Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss her take on the reversal and why the company has decided to 'exclusively' focus on motorcycling.
FIRST ON FOX – Some of the biggest names in business, education, sports and entertainment are among the winners of this year's "Worst of the Woke" Awards.
The New Tolerance Campaign (NTC), a watchdog group that targets "intolerance, double-standards" and what it calls "phony tolerance" of various institutions, announced the honorees of its annual competition on Friday.
"It’s amusing to look back at the wild woke moments that span the year, but it’s important to remember that these are all major brands and institutions that hold tremendous sway over our culture," NTC President Gregory T. Angelo told Fox News Digital.
"If the New Tolerance Campaign isn’t calling them out and the public isn’t pushing back, things like radical gender ideology and divisive DEI become the accepted status quo," he added. "We have a duty to mock this stuff."
Harley Davidson, Jaguar and the Paris Olympics are among the winners of the New Tolerance Campaign's "Worst of the Woke" Awards. (Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images;Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images; REUTERS/Tingshu Wang)
Mattel won a "woke" award for unveiling "the world’s first gender-neutral doll" with the launch of its Creatable World toy line.
"Kids have a blank canvas and all the pieces they need to create their own customizable characters again and again! Dress the doll one way for one character, then switch it up for someone completely different!" the Barbie company wrote on its website.
Harley Davidson was a recipient this year for comments made by its CEO Jochen Zeitz, who went viral for referring to himself as "the Taliban in a sustainable way," and that his goal was to "take on" and "redefine" "traditional capitalism." The motorcycle giant was also called out for its DEI initiatives, which the company announced were being rolled back following social media backlash.
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Another "woke" winner is Jaguar, which raised eyebrows last month for its bizarre ad featuring androgynous models instead of showcasing any of its luxury cars.
In Hollywood, the big winner is the now-cancelled Disney+ show "The Acolyte," the Star Wars spin-off series that was accused of oozing DEI ideology.
"It refused to stay true to Star Wars lore and instead sought to shoehorn as much DEI into every episode as possible: an all-lesbian coven of Force Witches lamenting the galaxy not accepting ‘women like us,’ asking an alien for its pronouns, a pronounced emphasis on race, and more all featured in the show," NTC said. "Series creator Leslye Headland even went on-record, stating that the inclusion of ‘queer’ communities in the program was deliberate because it ‘would be natural’ in an all-female community."
"The Acolyte" creator Leslye Headland jokingly accepted critics calling her show the "gayest Star Wars ever." (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images))
In the world of education, the two winners were Columbia University and Harvard University.
Columbia won its "woke" award for anti-Israel unrest that unfolded on campus, including the takeover of Hamilton Hall and how the school year ended with its university-wide commencement ceremony being canceled due to safety concerns. Harvard was honored for its meltdown following President-elect Donald Trump's victory, which included canceled classes in order to give students "space to process the election."
Two of this year's most-watched sporting events, Super Bowl LVIII and The Paris Olympics, were also award recipients.
Super Bowl LVIII received a nod for showcasing the "Black National Anthem" in addition to the National Anthem meant for all Americans. And the Summer Olympics won for its controversial opening ceremony which included drag queens depicting "The Last Supper."
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A glimpse of some of the performers who appeared in the Last Supper depiction in the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. (REUTERS/Tingshu Wang)
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NTC gave its "2024 Champion of Tolerance" award to conservative activist Robby Starbuck for putting a spotlight on DEI programs in corporate America and compelling companies to "stand down."
"Businesses long synonymous with blue-collar Americana such as Harley Davidson, Caterpillar, Ford, John Deere, and Tractor Supply were targets of Starbuck exposés that resulted in a rollback of DEI policies, termination of participation in the deceptively named ‘Corporate Equality Index,’ and an end to ‘woke’ employee trainings. American corporations are getting back to bottom-line basics, and Starbuck is responsible for showing them the way," NTC wrote.
Starbuck was thrilled to accept the award.
"It’s been the honor of a lifetime to fight for normal Americans who just want sanity from their workplaces and the stores they shop at," Starbuck said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"With the support of millions of Americans, we’ve done what many said was impossible. It turns out the impossible is possible with the right plan and determination. I won’t stop trying to do the impossible to better our country. Together we WILL make corporate America sane again," he added. "This award belongs to the millions of people who’ve supported my work… Without them nothing changes. To all of those people, I’m eternally grateful to be in this fight with you by my side."
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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