Outrage as Wickes boss says trans-critical shoppers 'not welcome'

Outrage as Wickes boss says trans-critical shoppers ‘are not welcome in our stores’ sparking backlash from Elon Musk and Sharron Davies and claims this is DIY chain’s ‘Bud Light moment’

• Wickes’ chief operating officer says trans voices must be amplified in business
• He labelled those who disagree with him ‘bigots’ who ‘are not welcome’ in store
• The comments have been blasted by Elon Musk and swimmer Sharron Davies  

DIY giant Wickes is facing a furious boycott campaign and tumbling share price after its chief operating officer said shoppers with trans-critical views are ‘bigots’ who ‘are not welcome in our stores anyway’. 

Wickes, one of Britain’s largest suppliers of home improvement products, controversially carried a float at Brighton Pride last year with the slogan ‘No LGB without the T’.

Yesterday, Fraser Longden, the firm’s chief operating officer, took part in an online trans summit hosted by Pink News and sponsored by EY.

Mr Longden said: ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to change some of the bigots out there’s minds, I’m never going to win that argument with them, so we were doing [ the Pride float] to show support to the community’.

His comment provoked a furious backlash online and Wickes’ share price is currently down five points – 4.25% today.

Fraser Longden, Wickes’ chief operating officer, said: ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to change some of the bigots out there’s minds, I’m never going to win that argument with them, so we were doing it to show support to the community’

James Essex, an ex-trainee child therapist who was thrown off his university degree for holding gender critical views, said: ‘These offensive, divisive and discriminatory remarks are an absolute outrage’

He said most of the population is in a ‘sort of slightly ignorant but mostly kind position’.

READ MORE: WICKES SPARKS FURY WITH ‘NO LGB WITHOUT THE T’ FLOAT AT BRIGHTON PRIDE 

Responding to threats of a boycott, he added: ‘The other ten per cent you know, they’re just hot air and they will go and buy a tin of paint in the nearest place to them.

‘That might have been us before, it might not be us afterwards – and equally, if they do come in and buy a tin of paint and behave that way, they’re not welcome in our stores anyway.’

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who has campaigned for the rights of women and girls in sport, criticised Longden’s comments.

She tweeted: ‘So Wickes thinks anyone in the UK that thinks biological females deserve fair and safe sport is a bigot! That’s an lawful lot of mums, dads, grandparents, brothers and of course females who’ll be taking their bigoted business elsewhere.’

James Esses, an ex-trainee child therapist who was thrown off his university degree for holding gender critical views, said: ‘These offensive, divisive and discriminatory remarks are an absolute outrage. 

‘I wonder how the majority of Wickes’ customers would feel, knowing its senior management holds them in such disdain?’

Twitter owner Elon Musk reacted to Mr Esses’ tweet with a simple ‘!!’ 

Campaigner Gary Powell wrote: ‘Let’s hope that Wickes now gets the Bud Light moment it so richly deserves. This is arrogant, irresponsible, authoritarian, cynical capitalism at its worst.’

Mr Powell’s comment follows news that beer chain Bud Light’s sales had dropped 25.7 per cent after it adopted trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney – who had no previous links with the product, in an ad campaign. 

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who has campaigned for the rights of women and girls in sport, criticised Longden’s comments.

Twitter owner Elon Musk reacted to Mr Esses’ tweet with a simple ‘!!’

Another user said she had stripped her daughter’s bedroom and planned to redecorate it in order to boycott Wickes

Another campaigner John James said the board of Wickes needed to ‘get their heads out of their bums’

Twitter user Suzannah responded to Mr Longden’s comment that she was ‘no longer welcome’ in the store

Melindi Scott also posted about the furore, saying she had ‘no idea feminist women were no longer welcome’ in store

Elsewhere in the ‘summit’, Mr Longden spoke about Wickes’ campaign for an all-out ban on conversion therapy – which critics claim could clash with gay and lesbian rights. 

READ MORE: ‘SOCIAL MEDIA ENCOURAGED ME TO THINK I WAS A TRAN WOMAN – THE TRUTH IS I’M A GAY MAN’ 

He said: ‘It’s just a logical statement isn’t it, if you’re saying conversion therapy – which we all accept is a ridiculous concept and harmful for one group of the population by trying to tell people they are not who they know they are – then that has to be true for everybody doesn’t it?

‘Surely that’s everybody, including me. You know, you can’t take me off in a room and try and persuade me I’m gay, you know that would be wrong, just the same as any other form of conversion therapy. So it has to be banned for all.’

Few gay conversion therapy programmes remain in the UK, and the government has indicated it may seek to outlaw the practice for gender identity as well as sexual orientation. 

Campaigners in the gender critical movement fear an outright ban could criminalise psychiatrists treating teenagers and other vulnerable people, some of whom may turn out to simply be same-sex attracted, following the scandal of the Tavistock clinic.

Wickes has been approached for comment. 

The hardware company took part in last year’s Brighton Pride parade with a float featuring a poster reading, ‘no LGB without the T’.

The words were emblazoned over the pink and white transgender flag, with the strapline, ‘we stand with our trans siblings now and forever’ underneath it.

But Wickes’s campaign sparked a heated debate on Twitter with campaigners on both sides wading in to share their views.   

Activist and friend of JK Rowling Allison Bailey tweeted: ‘To be clear, this is Wickes promoting unlawful discrimination against lesbians, gays & bisexuals & making our rights conditional on supporting another group.’

Ms Bailey is a long-standing activist for the LGB alliance, a charity which promotes and supports gay, lesbian and bisexual people.   

But other supporters praised the hardware giant for its inclusive motto on show in East Sussex, with one tweeting: ‘Wickes have won Twitter today… well done to whoever made the decision to do Pride right’.

Hardware store Wickes dived into the trans debate with the poster ‘no LGB without the T’

Ms Bailey is a long-standing activist for the LGB alliance, a charity which promotes and ‘support gay, lesbian and bisexual people’

In a statement Wickes said: ‘We were proud to take part in Brighton Pride this weekend to celebrate their 30th year, and even prouder of our LGBTQ+ Employee Network who work hard every day to make sure everyone can feel at home at Wickes. We are an inclusive home improvement employer and retailer and support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.’

The poster prompted a lively discussion online, with activists on either side of the debate weighing in. 

Youth Charity worker and former political candidate Nick Buckley posted: ‘Companies are now telling gay people what they should accept – all in the name of diversity. Any gay people use Wickes? Will you continue?’

One social media user said: ‘I’m confused by the messaging. Are they saying there are no lesbians, gays or bisexuals without trans people?’

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