A handful of popular fitness facilities in the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami areas are being hit hard after it was revealed the owner of their parent company was hosting a fundraiser for President Donald Trump.
Members of Equinox, SoulCycle, Blink Fitness and PURE Yoga are cancelling their memberships and calling for a boycott in response to the news that Stephen Ross is holding an event for President Trump’s reelection campaign in the Hamptons on Friday.
Tickets start at $100,000 for a photo with President Trump and lunch, while those who pay $250,000 will be invited to attend a roundtable with the Republican leader.
‘Hey @Equinox – what’s your policy for canceling memberships once a member finds out your owner is enabling racism and mass murder?’ wrote Billy Eichner on Twitter.
Another person of the social media platform even offered up a way to get out of Equinox’s notoriously iron-clad contracts.
‘point: gays, it’s hard to get out of your equinox membership contract unless you’re injured/pregnant/moving,’ wrote Alex Abad-Santos.
‘counterpoint: gays, if you f*** in a steam room and are caught, equinox bans you for life anyway, if you want me to help u get banned my DMs are open.’
Buds: Stephen Ross (above with Trump in 2010), the chairman and majority owner of The Related Companies, which is the parent company of Equinox and SoulCycle, is hosting a Trump event
ANger: ‘Hey @Equinox – what’s your policy for canceling memberships once a member finds out your owner is enabling racism and mass murder?’ wrote Billy Eichner (above)
F*** the pain away” Alex Abad-Santos offered up a way to get out of Equinox’s notoriously iron-clad contracts.
President Trump has managed to draw the ire of many Democrats in recent weeks with his racist comments about four female lawmakers, and more recently his decision on Wednesday to follow up a call for ‘unity’ by launching attacks on his political opponents.
He has also stripped away LGBTQ rights throughout his presidency, which before Wednesday had appeared to be seemingly at odds with the very pro-LGBTQ image projected by the our clubs, particularly Equinox.
The decision by Ross to host a fundraiser that will likely net millions for Preisdent Trump will now have far-reaching financial implications for his own business.
Chrissy Teigen entered the fray as well, voicing her disdain in a series of tweets late Wednesday afternoon.
‘the gym is my personal hell but if you’re a member of Equinox perhaps it is time to say peace(out)-inox ayyyyy I’m still sick yes but f*** equinox,’ she write in one post.
She then added: ‘oh and f*** soulcycle but I thought that way before this anyhow.’
Then, she wrapped things up by stating: ‘everyone who cancels their equinox and soul cycle memberships, meet me at the library. bring weights.’
‘We believe in tolerance and equality, and will always stay true to those values. Mr. Ross is a passive investor,’ said Equinox
Eichner followed up his tweet by writing: ‘Just contacted @Equinox to cancel my membership after many years. Money talks, especially with these monsters. If it’s too inconvenient for u to trade one LUXURY GYM for another, then you should be ashamed. (No disrespect to the many wonderful employees at my local Equinox). Bye!’
Michael Moore also cut ties, writing: ‘That’s it! Just cancelled my @SoulCycle membership!’
Others are taking more grassroot actions, with Michelangelo Signorile writing: ‘I will be handing out flyers with this story to patrons entering the @Equinox near me this evening. I urge all of you to do the same.’
Saturday Night Live writer and star of Los Espookys Julio Torres tweeted: ‘Hey power gays feel free to keep going to @Equinox if you gave up on being active and want to eaaaaase into out of touch, passive trump supporting. Careful tho! It’s not hot or trendy and younger, with-it gays who care more about the big picture than a gym WILL take over!
A spokesperson for Equinox responded to a request for comment from DailyMail.com by stating: ‘Neither Equinox nor SoulCycle have anything to do with the event later this week and do not support it. As is consistent with our policies, no company profits are used to fund politicians.’
The statement then noted: ‘We are committed to all our members and the communities we live in. We believe in tolerance and equality, and will always stay true to those values. Mr. Ross is a passive investor and is not involved in the management of either business.’
DailyMail.com asked how Ross could be classified as a ‘passive investor’ given the fact that he is
Some on social media took great delight in the fact that they had never joined or already quit one of the fitness facilities.
‘HHAHAHAHAH I’m so glad I quit @Equinox and as for @SoulCycle I always knew a pay-to-play cult based around riding a bicycle to nowhere was f***ing stupid AHAHAHHAHAHA QUIT IT ALLLL,’ wrote Sara Benicasa.
My So Called Life star Wilson Cruz explained the anger and frustration many of the boycotting members felt in a post on his Twitter account.
‘It’s important @Equinox know WHY we’re going to cancel our membership. This fundraiser and it’s ties to Stephen Ross, is a betrayal to our communities after masquerading as a corporate ally during #Pride,’ wrote Cruz.
‘You can’t use us to make money and then use it to work against us. No.’