Yosemite National Park Faces Boycott Calls Over Pride Celebration

California's Yosemite National Park is facing boycott calls, after an employee shared a video of staffers celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride on the grounds.

In recent months, the number of large U.S. brands being targeted with boycott calls has grown dramatically, as a host of different companies unveil products supporting Pride Month, which takes place every June. Companies supporting the LGBTQ+ community outside of Pride Month have also faced backlash from conservatives.

Brands and companies like Bud Light, Target, Nike, Adidas and Barstool Sports have been at the center of a furor over LGBTQ+ marketing at a time when anti-transgender sentiment appears to be growing in the United States, with bills targeting transgender people sweeping through Republican state legislatures.

Yosemite has became the latest of such targets, after a video uploaded to TikTok by drag queen Pattie Gonia showed employees celebrating Pride Month.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 1.3 million times, a celebratory group is seen waving rainbow flags. Pattie Gonia, whose real name is Wyn Wiley, is heard saying in a voiceover that "gay people are literally taking over the national parks system."

"I just helped their Pride in Yosemite for the third year in a row," Pattie Gonia continued. "But this isn't a Pride for visitors to the Valley. This is a Pride for the park employees, of which—as you can see—there are literal hundreds of queer Yosemite employees. We danced, we marched, we celebrated, and we got wet."

"I am so proud of all the community organizers within the park system who are making safe spaces for queer people all year round," added Pattie Gonia, whose recent collaboration with North Face has seen the company face boycott calls. "No planet, no Pride. Mother Nature is a lesbian. Goodbye!"

The clip was shared on Twitter by Charlie Kirk, who leads conservative youth group Turning Point USA. The conservative activist wrote to his 2.3 million followers: "Now even our national parks are hosting drag queens for 'Pride Month.'"

"Boycott Yosemite," wrote one Twitter user in reaction to the clip, while another said: "It's time to boycott Yosemite!!!"

Urged another detractor: "BOYCOTT!!! Use your internal fortitude to direct your Will to choose God and avoid Pride promoting locales and businesses. It's beyond time for true Christians to uphold CHRIST!!!"

"This is why you buy your own land far away from any state with the Yankee Sickness," wrote another. "Create your own park. This is beyond disgusting."

Amid the furor, a number of other Twitter users weighed in, supporting the event.

"In case you didn't know, I would LOVE to attend the Yosemite Pride events next year," tweeted one. "It looks great!"

"Yosemite posted a Pride post (literally just park rangers with Pride flags) and people in the comments are having straight meltdowns," wrote another, who added that they were "hoping they boycott so the crowds get smaller."

Others pointed out one of Kirk's tweets from June 2019, in which he wrote: "BOOM: Today, Botswana decriminalized homosexuality. President [Donald] Trump's global push to decriminalize homosexuality is achieving results across the world. Will CNN & MSNBC give his administration any credit for this monumental achievement?"

On TikTok, the video was met with a flood of positive comments, including one from the Human Rights Campaign that read: "Love safe spaces in nature!"

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Yosemite National Park for comment.

Yosemite is located in four different counties in California and covers an area of about 761,740 acres, which ranks 16th in the U.S. in terms of national park size. According to the National Park Service, Yosemite National Park was the 21st most visited national park in the U.S. in 2021 with about 3.3 million visitors.