Fact Check: Did Harley Davidson's sales drop by more than 40% after going woke? Backlash over DEI initiatives explored

A recent Facebook post claimed Harley Davidson’s sales dropped by over 40% due to the company's DEI ventures. The original post from America's Last Line Of Defense was deleted but was reposted by another user.

Conservative commentator Robby Starbuck criticized Harley Davidson’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program in a post on X on July 23, accusing CEO Jochen Zeitz of making the company "woke" with LGBTQ+ initiatives. Starbuck called for a boycott, and many bikers voiced their support. However, there is no news of Harley Davidson's sales falling due to its DEI efforts, and the company has not reported any major losses despite the backlash.

According to Snopes, the Facebook post surfaced from The Dunning-Kruger Times, a website that describes itself as a satirical news page. On its 'About Us' page it has been clarified that everything reported by them is fiction fabricated mostly on ongoing political topics.

Thus, it is a false statement that Harley Davidson is facing a more than 40% drop in sales due to its DEI initiatives.

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Harley Davidson called out for its company-wide LGBTQ+ programs

Robby Starbuck informed his followers on X that the motor brand is a Platinum founding member of Wisconsin’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which was against the ban on s*xual transition for trans youth.

His video claims that the company has held an LGBTQ+ boot camp, given money to campaigns supporting the community, assisted in the founding of Wisconsin's LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, required staff members to follow DEI guidelines, and trained employees on how to be allies of LGBTQ+ individuals.

He said Harley sponsored an LGBTQ Pride event that had "rage rooms" to "let off steams". Robby added the room was set up right next to the area of children's story-time, where the kids also got to interact with drag queens.

In his long rant about the motor company's ties with the queer community, Robby Starbuck mentioned Sandy Eichel, a once Lutheran pastor’s wife turned financial services speaker who now identifies as non-binary. He highlighted Harley's advocacy for the implementation of the "Equality Act", which he defined as:

"The Equality Act in reality has nothing to do with equality. It's about stripping women of their spaces and allowing men into bathrooms and locker rooms."

Further addressing Harley Davidson riders, Starbuck emphasized the company:

"support boys competing against your daughters in sports, stripping them of their championships, their opportunities, and their scholarships. It also means that they support men following your daughter into the bathroom and your daughter is supposed to shut up and be okay with it."

Addressing the company in the video, the right-wing conservative influencer demanded Harley drop its DEI ventures:

"Just get rid of the social issues and divisive causes. Make great motorcycles and provide great customer service. No more CEI scores, no more DEI departments, no more woke trainings, no more donations to woke causes, no more donations to Pride parades, they parade s*xuality to children. Just make motorcycles. Period."

Lastly, he asked the company to "stop all of this wokeness" if it wishes to recover from the backlash.

But despite Starbuck's call for Harley riders to join his campaign against the company at South Dakota's 84th Sturgis Motorcycle rally, according to Fortune, the company rather saw a 6.5% growth in its stock. Though Harley Davidson faced a minimal slump of 3% in its bike sales, its revenue of April to June steeped by 12%.