With DEI initiatives firmly in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, many large corporations that were once so quick to celebrate June as Pride month have quietly ditched their public support for LGBTQI+ rights even faster.
It used to be common for companies to emblazon their social media accounts with rainbow-themed versions of their logo, but in 2025, the same big businesses that were so vocal about supporting Pride initiatives have fallen silent.
That’s certainly true for big international airlines in the United States, which were falling over themselves to show their support for Pride until very recently (critics might argue they were just chasing the so-called ‘Pink Dollar’).
In 2025, the social media accounts of American Airlines, Delta, and United make no mention or reference to Pride, even if these airlines do still support LGBTQ+ initiatives (Alaska and United are still sponsors of San Francisco’s Pride parade even as other big name corporations drop their support).
German flag carrier Lufthansa doesn’t seem too concerned that supporting LGBTQ+ rights is no longer fashionable… at least not in Trump’s America.
On June 2, the airline posted a photo of a pilot waving a Pride rainbow flag out the window of a cockpit, captioned with the words: “Carried with pride, waved with passion. We will always spread the love, across borders, screens, and the skies.”
It seemed like a pretty inoffensive and inspiring message that didn’t directly reference LGBTQ+ rights, but it didn’t take long for Lufthansa’s Facebook page to be deluged with homophobic comments.
But it looks like Lufthansa knew exactly what it was getting itself into, and its social media team quickly fired back at critics with sassy replies that shut down the hateful comments without censoring them or turning off the comment feature altogether.
“Thank you for you for giving me a reason not to be a Lufthansa passenger,” one person wrote underneath the post. Lufthansa clapped back with: “You’re welcome to join us on board whenever rainbows are not scary to you anymore!”
While one person inferred that inclusivity was a safety issue, saying: “That could actually affect the flight of the plane. I’ll take the bus.”
Lufthansa was not having any of it, though, relying: “It is a disappointment that we are losing you as a customer for this reason, but we stand by our values.”
Another referenced DEI, saying: “Never flying on a plane with one of them pilots. You know they are a DEI hire. I’m not testing fate for their delusional world.”
Again, Lufthansa stood firm: “Sorry to see you go but we stand by our values and will continue to implement DEI.”
Many responses to the post have, however, been positive, and some fans have pointed out that the response has proved exactly why, even in 2025, Pride is still needed.
June has traditionally been recognized as Pride Month to mark the Stonewall riots that occurred in late June 1969. Since then, several US presidents have issued proclamations, declaring June as the month of Pride, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week that President Trump has no plans to issue a similar proclamation this year.
Trump was, however, the first Republican President to acknowledge LGBT Pride Month back in 2019 when he Tweeted a message in support of the commemoration.
Lufthansa should focus on its 40 versions of business class seats instead of pushing rainbow propaganda. The public is now homofatigued.
Exactly! Disagreeing with the rainbow mafia’s annual browbeating of corporations into compliance is not “homophobia”, it’s objective thinking.
If fact, calling it “homophobia” is merely a good way of eliminating dissent.
LOL – So, a photo of a flag has you so deranged and it’s ‘propaganda’ huh? Got your red hat handy? The public isn’t homo-fatigued, they are just afraid of a $ $ holes like you. I’m so glad we are taking up free space in your mind for absolutely no reason. Just admin your a hater and it’ll be over.
Lh is such a troubled airline, as much as it’s home country. They say they value dei but their customer service is hundred years behind when it comes to race and ethnicity. Lh is probably most racist airline in the world, particularly toward asians, Africans and Jews people. Yet they argue they are protecting dei by simply putting out slogans towards sexual and gender minorities but it makes them a hypocrite…
People in the west (where there’s truly no civil rights battles left to be waged by the rainbow crowd) are indeed tired of the relentless forced celebration of these lifestyles by governments and large corporations. What makes the rainbow crowd’s lifestyle choices more worthy of celebration than anyone else’s? I agree enough is enough.
I beg to differ that the US ‘rainbow crowd’ no longer has any civil rights battles. The culture wars in the US have been heating up for past few years, now it’s near its worst aggravated by our current President who is also diminishing the world’s economy in addition to other atrocities.
I’m surprised ‘Luftwaffe’ would dare provoke cultural/politcal wars, given their recent religious/racial incidents.
It’s amazing how many troglodytes are willing to click on this article and complain about DEI. Rainbow flags have nothing to do with LH’s performance, or the reason why your life is shitty, but ok–LOL.
Happy Pride 🙂
How is saying that the flag would affect the flight of the plane homophobic? Any flag sticking out of the window during flight would affect it.
And they chose the racist Pride flag. As a Gay man im getting tired of Alphabet Soup and using a flag that divides people further. The rainbow flag was never about race. This new flag is.