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 has been blasted after once again stepping into the debate around trans rights in the UK – labelling those with objections ‘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 it to show support to the community’
He added most of the population is in a ‘sort of slightly ignorant but mostly kind position’.
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 Essex, a 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 ‘!!’
Elsewhere in the ‘summit, Mr Longden spoke about conversion therapy.
Wickes has been approached for comment.
