“Repulsive”: Abercrombie & Fitch LGBTQ ad sparks outrage online

Abercrombie & Fitch recently saw controversy after they posted a video that showcased two bearded individuals dancing to Fireworks by the Purple Disco Machine. The video showed several scenes between the two individuals, who were also shown kissing each other.

This triggered several reactions from social media users as the advertisement faced backlash from the community for their "woke" campaign. Users referred to it as a "repulsive" move and some compared it to Budweiser's recent collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

User called the ad campaign repulsive (Image via Twitter/rickkunzn)

Abercrombie & Fitch have been known to rally for the LGBTQ community on several occasions with initiatives such as The Trevor Project.

---

Netizens express their shock and disappointment over Abercrombie & Fitch LGBTQ campaign

Several Twitter users tweeted about the ad campaign, and their reactions weren't all positive. Several users stated that Abercrombie's ad campaigns have always targeted people who would get offended by their ads, and that's their "outrage marketing" scheme.

User commented on the campaign, calling it outrage marketing (Image via Twitter/BFoltaRealtor)

A user commented saying that the casual luxury brand hadn't learned from the Budweiser boycott situation. Budweiser had partnered with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney on a pro-LGBTQ campaign, and they received significant backlash for the same. Several users were posting TikTok videos where they bought the cans just to crush and destroy them.

User linked Budweiser and A&F's target audience (Image via Twitter/TFourhawks)

User talked about the brand being overhyped and overpriced (Image via Twitter/frani_rolltide)

User commented on boycotting the brand (Image via Twitter/impalawomen2)

User talked about A&F being boycotted (Image via Twitter/ScottDGAF1)

Several other users commented on how similar it was to Bud Light's campaign and the company just seemingly wanted to make a name for themselves once again. However, Abercrombie & Fitch have previously mentioned that the LGBTQ community is not their target audience.

Social media user asked who the target audience was (Image via Twitter/JasonDriskel)

---

Abercrombie & Fitch's history with the LGBTQ community

Throughout CEO Mike Jeffries' tenure as the leader of the company, he acknowledged the company's intention to sexualise the brand but denied it when asked if he believed there was anything inappropriate about it.

"I think that what we represent sexually is healthy. It's playful. It's not dark. It's not degrading! And it's not gay, and it's not straight, and it's not black, and it's not white. It's not about any labels. That would be cynical, and we're not cynical!"

He added:

"It all depicts this wonderful camaraderie, friendship, and playfulness that exist in this generation and, candidly, does not exist in the older generation."

According to reports, Jeffries was one of the highest paid CEOs, and he started the A&F ads that people interpreted as homerotic. However, he was slammed with an anti-ageing lawsuit from male models and resigned after "a drop in sales."