Harley-Davidson ditched DEI. The right is attacking it as ‘woke’ anyway

Far-right influencers launched what appeared to be a coordinated campaign to deride Harley-Davidson as “gay” and “woke.” Many of the attacks promoted the same competitor as a supposedly more "based" alternative.Ironically, the latest round of criticism comes less than two years after Harley-Davidson abandoned its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives following pressure from far-right activist Robby Starbuck, who had branded the programs as “woke.”Starbuck on Thursday posted what he claimed was new evidence that Harley-Davidson’s new CEO has a history of supporting DEI initiatives. But Starbuck appeared to be arriving late to a backlash that had already erupted across right-wing social media, where multiple influencers had begun targeting the company in near-unison.As The Bulwark's Will Sommer noted, the sudden fixation on Harley-Davidson’s willingness to sell motorcycles to LGBTQ+ riders appeared to gain momentum after several influencers repeatedly highlighted the same alternative brand: Indian Motorcycle.Related: Companies dropping DEI will face consequences — 80% of LGBTQ+ adults support boycotts: reportMost notably, mixed martial arts fighter Sean Strickland took a swipe at Harley-Davidson while promoting Indian as an apolitical alternative.“Officially made the switch to Indian Motorcycle. What does Indian stand for? No f***ing clue, the way it should be,” Strickland posted on his 971,000 X followers. “Every time I got on my Harley I was indirectly supporting radical ideology that (is) actually pushing radical ideology on children. There is no going back from that.”The Bulwark noted that Strickland also claimed he was ditching his Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 2024, but did not revisit the issue publicly until he began promoting Indian.Days later, the account Gunther Eagleman, which boasts 1.7 million X followers, also posted about both brands.“Why support a company that lectures you while their business collapses? Harley-Davi