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Rupert Murdoch Proposes Boycott Of Guinness Beer For Pro-LGBT Policies

Rupert Murdoch CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ EVAN VUCCI
Rupert Murdoch CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ EVAN VUCCI

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch suggested on Twitter this week that there should be a boycott of Guinness beer because of the brewery’s support for LGBT rights. Guinness withdrew its support of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade because organizers refused to let LGBT groups participate. On Monday, Murdoch tweeted:

Where will this end? Guinness pulls out of religious parade bullied by gay orgs who try to take it over. Hope all Irish boycott the stuff

As Robert Mackey at the New York Times points out, the irony is that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin has been inclusive of LGBT groups for over a decade. In other words, there seems to be no cultural justification for U.S. Irish groups to reject LGBT people from participation in these celebrations.

Murdoch’s News Corp has taken a two-faced approach when it comes to the LGBT community, promoting discrimination (e.g. Fox News) or pride (e.g. Wedding Pride magazine) so as to profit from both. If Murdoch’s proposed Guinness boycott weren’t evidence enough, though, he did make his personal position on same-sex couples marrying clear in 2006: “I believe it is wrong. I’m considered homophobic and crazy about these things and old fashioned. But I think that the family — father, mother, children — is fundamental to our civilization.”

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