Jul

9

ROCKSTAR’s CEO Says Gays Misunderstood Company’s Stance on Gay Rights

Filed Under LGBT 

In late 2008, members of the LGBTQ community launched a Boycott ROCKSTAR initiative. In a press release distributed this afternoon, Russel Weiner, CEO of ROCKSTAR, says the gay community may have misunderstood the company’s stance on gay rights:

ROCKSTAR Energy Drink CEO Russell Weiner announced today that the beverage company will expand its LGBT corporate policies and make $100,000 in donations, shared among several prominent LGBT organizations. The donations represent a significant contribution given ROCKSTAR’s relatively small staff of 120 employees.

The contribution will be shared among the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and The Trevor Project, and ROCKSTAR Energy Drink will also financially sponsor the National LGBT Bloggers Initiative. The donations and affirmation of LGBT-friendly corporate policies mark steps by ROCKSTAR to demonstrate support for the LGBT community.

“It has recently come to ROCKSTAR’s attention that there might be a misconception about our company’s policy and my personal support for LGBT rights,” said Weiner. “We apologize for that misunderstanding, and want to make clear today that our company fully supports our LGBT employees and our LGBT customers.”

“Some have erroneously associated our company with offensive language directed at LGBT people, specifically statements coming from Michael Savage, who is not and has never been a shareholder or officer of ROCKSTAR Energy Drink. On behalf of our company and directors, including myself and CFO Janet Weiner, I would like to take this opportunity to disavow any offensive statements directed toward LGBT people, including statements from Michael Savage. ROCKSTAR assures our customers and the general public that our brand will never be associated with any language that does not affirm the essential dignity of every person in our diverse national community.”

Sounds like Weiner learned (fairly quickly) just how much money his company makes off the gay community.

Comments

3 Responses to “ROCKSTAR’s CEO Says Gays Misunderstood Company’s Stance on Gay Rights”

  1. Alex on July 9th, 2009 3:14 pm

    Nice, Its good to see that everyone can finally start living in peace. I mean people only pick on gay people because they are running out of things to pick on.

  2. Meredith on July 9th, 2009 3:49 pm

    I dunno. It’s still a Savage family thing, isn’t it? Does coughing up some bucks fix what that guy says and spreads? It’s a good start though, I might buy a Rockstar Roasted Light Vanilla now and then.

  3. sisterstalk on July 10th, 2009 9:34 pm

    Personally, I think this move is all about money. In this economy, you don't want to be pissin' off consumers – especially those who tend to have more disposable income than others.

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