Guinness is the latest in a line of beer makers to pull out of a major St. Patrick’s Day parade because organizers won’t allow gays and lesbians to march openly.
The company announced late Sunday that it was dropping its sponsorship of Monday’s parade in New York City, after the famed Stonewall Inn threatened to stop selling Guinness beer if it continued to sponsor the parade.
“We were hopeful that the policy of exclusion would be reversed for this year’s parade,” the company said in a statement posted to LGBT advocacy group GLAAD’s website. “As this has not come to pass, Guinness has withdrawn its participation.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) had announced last month that he would not participate in the parade because of the ban on gay pride signs. Heineken pulled out of both New York’s and Boston’s parades on Friday, and the Boston-based brewery that makes Sam Adams brand beer also pulled out of that city’s parade after negotiations to allow a group of gay military veterans to march broke down.
