LGBTQ Advocates Protest West Hollywood Equinox Over Trump Ties

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — News that a billionaire owner of the parent company for the luxury gym Equinox and SoulCycle is fundraising for President Donald Trump has forced many across the nation to agonize over their gym memberships. But LGBTQ advocates in West Hollywood aren’t so torn.

About two dozen people protested at the popular Equinox location on Sunset Boulevard Friday, in West Hollywood even as Stephen Ross, chairman of the Related Cos., the Equinox and SoulCycle parent company, played host to Trump at his Hamptons' estate.

“Equinox owner Stephen Ross is hosting a big dollar fundraiser for Donald Trumps re-election campaign this Friday. Let's send a message loud and clear, we can not support companies who are trying to re-elect a racist, misogynistic, trans-phobic, homophobic, anti-immigrant and all around bigot,” wrote protest organizers Gonzalo Garcia and Adam G. Bass on the protest’s facebook page. The pair also posted an infamous photo of white supremacists marching outside Charlottesville with the words “Equinox Made Me Do It” superimposed.

For their parts, Equinox and SoulCycle officials have attempted to distance themselves from the Ross fundraiser.

“Neither Equinox nor SoulCycle have anything to do with the event later this week and do not support it. As is consistent with our policies, no company profits are used to fund politicians,” the statement read. “Mr. Ross is a passive investor and is not involved in the management of either business.”

Equinox isn’t the first company to face boycotts for its ties to Trump, but it’s branding as LGBT-friendly made news of the Trump fundraiser untenable for many Equinox and SoulCycle enthusiasts. The Trump administration has been aggressive in stripping the LGBT community of protections, banning transgender people from serving their country and peeling back workplace protections against discrimination.

Comments the president made to reporters Friday morning may not have helped Equinox efforts to stave off the backlash.

Protestor John Wooden told the Los Angeles Times he quit his Equinox membership over the fundraiser because it upset him to think his money made its way to Ross.

“It’s an icky feeling,” he told the newspaper. “This is not Republican or Democrat. Trump is a problem for the country, for the world, for humanity, for children.”

“And I understand the fundraiser was totally sold out and it’s very successful,” he said, adding that a pair of Hampton fundraisers Friday would bring in $11 million to $12 million.

“The controversy makes Steve Ross hotter,” he added, according to the Los Angeles Times.