Chrissy Teigen Leads Celebrity Boycott Of Equinox & SoulCycle After Owner Hosts Fundraiser For President Trump
Chrissy Teigen is one of several celebrities calling for a boycott of popular fitness facilities Equinox, SoulCycle, Blink Fitness and PURE Yoga after it was revealed that the owner of the facilities’ parent company is holding a fundraising event for President Trump’s re-election campaign, reported The Daily Mail.
Stephen Ross, the chairman and majority owner of The Related Companies, is an open supporter of Donald Trump and the host of the event taking place in the Hamptons on Friday. Those wishing to attend can buy a $100,000 ticket to take a photo with the president and eat lunch while anyone willing to pay $250,000 will be invited to attend a roundtable with Trump.
Chrissy took to Twitter on Wednesday to express her opinion on the boycott, which was originally proposed by Billy Eichner.
“The gym is my personal hell but if you’re a member of Equinox perhaps it is time to say peace(out)-inox ayyyyy I’m still sick yes but f*** equinox…oh and f*** soulcycle but I thought that way before this anyhow…everyone who cancels their equinox and soul cycle memberships, meet me at the library. bring weights.”
Billy was one of the first to call for a boycott of the fitness facilities, posting a tweet directed towards Equinox.
“Hey @Equinox – what’s your policy for canceling memberships once a member finds out your owner is enabling racism and mass murder?”
rough day at equinox pic.twitter.com/CNxrQUbpCQ
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) August 7, 2019
Ross hit back at those supporting the boycott, stating that he has always been an active participant in American democracy and prefers to engage directly and support the things he cares about. The businessman added that he has known Donald Trump for 40 years and although he doesn’t share the president’s opinions on everything, he has never been bashful about expressing his thoughts.
The chairman finished his response by claiming that he is an outspoken champion of racial equality, inclusion, diversity, public education and environmental sustainability, and that he has and will continue to support both Democratic and Republican leaders to address those challenges.
After the fundraiser event was announced, many Equinox members took the boycott seriously and canceled their subscriptions. One member at a Brooklyn, NYC branch commented that the gym appeared practically empty at 6 p.m. and that “at least 30 members called to terminate.”
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) August 7, 2019
While not all social media users are supportive of the boycott, with some arguing that people should not boycott businesses just because they don’t share the same political views as their owners, it has garnered a significant amount of supporters.
Michael Moore, Michelangelo Signorile and Julio Torres are among other celebrities who openly support the boycott of the fitness facilities on Twitter.
