By Lee Barney  From Newmax

Harley-Davidson will no longer participate in the LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion scoring system of the Human Rights Campaign, the motorcycle maker said Monday.

Harley-Davidson added that it ended its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy in April following an internal review of its policies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“It is critical to our business that we hire and retain the best talent and that all employees feel welcome,” Harley-Davidson said in a statement on X. “That said, we have not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today. We do not have hiring quotas and we no longer have supplier diversity spend goals.”

Harley-Davidson is the latest company to drop or amend its DEI policies after online pressure by conservative activist Robby Starbuck.

After succeeding with similar boycott threats against farm supplies seller Tractor Supply and tractor maker Deere, Starbuck began targeting Harley-Davidson on July 23 for its LGBTQ+ mandates and “total commitment to DEI policies.”

Social media lit up in response to the motorcycle maker’s decision to drop DEI.

“You got ‘Budlighted,’” wrote one X user.

“Go woke… go broke,” another platform user stated.

“Until your CEO goes Harley is dead. Don’t buy Harley until the CEO is gone,” wrote another.

“It’s as if you have NO CLUE who your customers are. Replace your Marxist CEO,” slammed another.

Harley’s statement added, without mentioning Starbuck: “We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks.”

In an interview with Newsmax Monday, Starbuck said 1,000 whistleblowers have come forward with information on similar woke campaigns at major U.S. companies and that he plans to expose other DEI and environmental, social and governance initiatives that put these so-called social justice goals above profits.

Starbuck said he also wants Harley-Davidson’s CEO Jochen Zeitz replaced.

Billionaire Elon Musk has also chimed in on the debate, siding with Starbuck on X, “Doesn’t sound super compatible with their customers.”

Eric Bloem, vice president of corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, disagrees with Starbuck and Musk, maintaining that DEI is important to the success of any business.

The LGBTQ+ community is part of the motorcycle community, Bloem says: “Harley-Davidson should resist divisive rhetoric against corporate diversity initiatives.”

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