"Another store to boycott": Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade non-binary controversy explained as petition receives more than 25,000 signatures

By Aaron Antony

Modified Nov 15, 2023 19:01 GMT

Boycott calls are being made against the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The retail giant came under fire for the inclusion of non-binary performers in its upcoming Thanksgiving Day Parade. A petition from Christian Advocacy group One Million Moms has amassed over 29,000 signatures to boycott the parade due to it allegedly exposing millions of viewers to the "liberal LGBTQ agenda".

A lot of netizens wholeheartedly agreed with the petition and requested the retail giant to keep s*xual preferences and gender out of a Thanksgiving day parade. People did not understand how Macy's did not learn from the Target boycott scenario. One X user commented:

Netizens condemned the parade (Image via X/@FoxNews)

Netizens show support for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Boycott

Netizens were not too thrilled with Macy's. Once they caught wind of the petition, everybody immediately wanted to sign it. People pointed out that the sponsors of the Parade were about to lose a lot of money and did not understand why people did not learn from the previous boycotts. Here are a few reactions to the Macy's boycott petition from X (formerly known as Twitter) users:

"Shame on Macy’s": One Million Moms lambast Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 97th edition of the beloved annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was all set to kick off the holiday season on November 23 at 8:30 A.M. Macy's had even got Cher and Usher to perform at the parade. The parade is also set to feature a very many Broadway musicals, including, "& Juliet" and "Shucked". The inclusion of these two musicals did not sit well with a lot of parents.

American Family Association division, One Million Moms created a petition to boycott the parade. The group, which aims to fight against the exploitation of children by the entertainment industry, vehemently protested against the Parade's showing of "& Juliet" and "Shucked" due to both musicals having transgender and non-binary actors in major roles. The petition read,

"The non-binary and transgender extravaganza on display this Thanksgiving will be brought to you by Macy’s during their annually sponsored Thanksgiving Day Parade."

It further stated,

"Unless they are forewarned about it, this year’s holiday parade will potentially expose tens of millions of viewers at home to the liberal LGBTQ agenda."

The petition singled out non-binary actors, Justin David Sullivan and Alex Newell. Sullivan plays the role of Juliet's non-binary friend, 'May' in "& Juliet". The petition highlighted the actor refusing eligibility for the Tony Awards as he felt that the categories needed to be more inclusive of gender-non-confirming people. Alex Newell played 'Lulu' in "Shucked", for which he won a Tony Award.

The petition called the parade, "liberal nonsense" and noted that trans entertainers have performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before. It recalled when trans singer Kim Petras performed in the 2021 parade during this "once family-friendly holiday tradition". The petition declared,

"Shame on Macy’s for promoting and sponsoring this type of entertainment. We still cannot trust Macy’s Dept. Store."

It further added,

"It is clear that Macy’s does not have our children’s best interests in mind. Macy’s needs to know that trust must be earned, and once trust is lost, it is difficult to get back."

The petition went viral and amassed over 29,000 signatures, at the time of writing this article. According to a statement, the upcoming parade is set to feature 5,000 volunteers, 9 performance groups, 12 marching bands, 32 heritage and novelty balloons, 16 featured character balloons, 26 fantastic floats, and over 700 clowns.

Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann