Gay media empire forced out board member over MAGA hat

A board member of a gay media empire was seemingly pushed out his role after an employee uproar over his expression of support for President Donald Trump on social media.Jay Katari resigned from the board of equalpride, a parent company that owns prominent LGBTQ magazines and outlets such as The Advocate, Out, and Them after journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas dug up a photo of the Utah-based businessman sporting a read hat reading “Trump” and “Keep America Great.” Katari was tapped as a “Strategic Advisor, Growth & Innovation” just two weeks earlier, according to The Advocate, one of equalpride’s magazines — but his name has since been scrubbed from the LGBTQ-focused media firm’s website.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The fallout began when Ortega-Rojas, a Substack journalist, reported that Katari had been “quietly” added to equalpride’s board and scoured his social media history.In one image posted to Facebook in May 2024, Katari is seem sporting the red Trump hat alongside three men on a balcony.

Ortega-Rojas pointed out other signs of what he called a potential “conflict” with the LGBTQ mission, such as following Trump family members on social media or posts appearing to bash former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.His bio includes pronouns listed as “dude/bro/guy/man/Jedi,” which was seen as mocking the practice originating in the trans community of listing preferred pronouns.Katari also showed support for Israel, according to a Facebook post that The Post found, one of the few explicitly political positions he’s taken online.

The findings infuriated editorial staff at the equalpride’s newsrooms, who went to leadership to ask about Katari’s role and publicly distanced their work from the exec.He resigned soon after...