The CEO of BarkBox, the company that offers a monthly subscription service for boxes of dog toys and treats, has issued a public apology for a “disrespectful and hurtful” internal message that leaked on social media.
A screenshot of the message that circulated on Reddit described the decision to immediately pause paid ads and lifecycle marketing pushes for the company’s Pride kit.
“While celebrating Pride is something we may value, we need to acknowledge that the current climate makes this promotion feel more like a political statement than a universally joyful moment for all dog people,” the message reads in part. “If we wouldn’t feel comfortable running a promotion centered around another politically charged symbol (like a MAGA-themed product), it’s worth asking whether this is the right moment to run this particular campaign.”
“Right now, pushing this promo risks unintentionally sending the message that ‘we’re not for you’ to a large portion of our audience,” the message concludes.
BarkBox confirmed to Business Insider the authenticity of the screenshot. The author of the message is unclear.
Founder and CEO Matt Meeker apologized for the “disrespectful and hurtful” message in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“I do not agree with the content of the message. It wasn’t good, it doesn’t reflect our values, and I’m deeply sorry that it happened,” he said.
“We stand by the products,” he wrote about the Pride kits, noting that the company had no plans to remove them. While the company has donated a portion of profits from its Pride collection to an organization supporting LGBTQ people in past years, it’ll donate 100% of the revenue from the collection this year, he added.
The company’s Pride collection is available as an optional add-on for BarkBox and Super Chewer subscribers, and has been offered for the past four years.
The initial pullback on Pride isn’t unique to BarkBox. Some of the biggest retailers in the US have walked back their support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, with some taking cues from the Trump administration’s stance on the matter. Target last year scaled back its Pride Month collection after receiving backlash from conservatives over the merchandise in prior years. In late November, Walmart announced it was ending some of its DEI initiatives and taking down some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website.
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