Corporations bailed on Pride — but who needs ‘em?

Rainbow merch was never the point. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, one of the hottest looks of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Companies are [skipping Pride](. - Justin Timberlake’s [wild ride](. - [Reader replies]( are clear-eyed. - Beyoncé couldn’t stop [the slide](. Shhh, It’s Pride One of the more embarrassing things to ever happen to me was at my best friend’s wedding. Before the ceremony, one of her guy friends walked up to me and said, “I’m gay, by the way.” My immediate response? “Oh, cool!!” and then I shook his hand. Turns out, his name was Gabe. And his girlfriend was in the bridal party with me. Explaining this miscommunication was slightly awkward, but, hey, we love an ally! Speaking of which: We have a little over 72 hours left of Pride Month. To be clear, it’s not me who’s counting — it’s the corporations. Pride this year has been a mixed bag. On one hand, [you have]( Chappell Roan [dressing up]( like Lady Liberty. Celebrities are doing [poppers]( in public. Charli XCX — AKA, the [president]( of Bushwick — is [bumpin’]( that [Brat](. Even President Biden is [pardoning]( vets who got expelled from the military for being gay. But for all that progress, the month-long celebration of the girls and the gays has been rather hush-hush in corners of Corporate America (and [‘Murica]( America). Nike opted not to pursue a Pride-themed campaign for the first time since 1999 and Target chose to [sell]( its LGBTQ+ [bird figurines]( at some, but not all of its stores. Howard Chua-Eoan says it’s evidence that the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light boycott of 2023 did, sadly, scare some companies away. (Luckily, the San Francisco touring production of Wicked [isn’t afraid]( of a little backlash.) But Howard thinks the message of Pride requires some soul-searching, too: “For gay people, June shouldn’t be a time to luxuriate in corporate coddling. It’s a time to remember the struggles that have brought us this far. And that this far isn’t yet far enough. Let’s take stock of the journey instead of the merchandise.” Read [the whole thing](. Could Tesla Save the [World Tour](? I’m all for asking [hypothetical questions](, but wondering what would have happened if Justin Timberlake had been driving a Tesla instead of a 2025 BMW in Sag Harbor at 12:30 a.m. on June 18th is truly one of the most pointless thought exercises I’ve ever dedicated braincells to. But Elon Musk [wants]( us to play this game! So here we are, trying to figure out how a robotaxi would react to an allegedly intoxicated [boyband]( singer-turned- [Trolls]( vocalist: “The notion that a Tesla wouldn’t have ‘let’ Timberlake run a stop-sign,” is rather flawed, [says]( Liam Denning. “The robotaxi vision, which now [underpins the vast majority]( of Tesla’s massive market capitalization, centers on negating the driver’s role. Yet it remains just that, a vision, and the hyping of vehicle automation has meanwhile created confusion about such systems.” Liam goes on to explain how Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature still requires the active supervision of a driver. A recent [survey]( found that the majority of Americans on the road overestimate the capabilities of automatic emergency braking. “If sober drivers are prone to such overconfidence already, imagine adding a few drinks to the mix,” he writes. Dear Reader, The war in Gaza is not an easy thing to write about. Our columnist Marc Champion knows that more than most, having covered it extensively over the last eight months. “The visceral, polarizing nature of this 70-year-old dispute is reflected in the correspondence I get in response to columns,” he writes. “Some are, let’s just say brief, and best ignored. But in an age of trolling I’m always struck by the sincere and thoughtful nature of most. That was especially true of responses to [a piece]( published this week … The comments I get each deserve a response, but I can’t physically answer them all.” So Marc put together [a summary of the responses]( he’s received. They “get to the heart of why so many who identify with Israel find the international backlash against its operation in Gaza so bewildering, if not antisemitic,” he says. If you take time to read anything today, let it be this. We made [the link]( free for you to access. Telltale Charts Serious question for the executives at Levi’s: If Beyoncé and Post Malone can’t [save you](, what can? Today, shares of the denim maker tumbled after second-quarter sales missed expectations. “The performance should have been better given that denim is one of the hottest looks around right now,” Andrea Felsted [writes](. Tsk, tsk. Javier Blas would like to set the record straight: The death of the petrodollar is a complete and total MYTH. For the past two weeks, the financial blogosphere has been screaming about how Saudi Arabia is ditching the greenback. At first, Javier “resisted the temptation to rebut the chatter. It was pushed by a combination of crypto speculators, gold bugs, conspiracy theorists and, above all, lots of Russian bots,” he writes. But then well-respected [financial commentators]( joined in on the hogwash and Javier said, “enough is enough,” and wrote [this column](. [Debate Night]( Reading It’s actually President Biden who lives for [the art of the deal]( — not Donald Trump. — Patricia Lopez Brace yourself for [the cringefest]( that Americans call a presidential “debate.” — Andreas Kluth This is [Biden’s chance]( to bury the vitality myth and put himself side-by-side with Trump. — Tim O’Brien [SCOTUS]( Reading The Supreme Court just did more than [throw out]( the Purdue Pharma opioid settlement. — Noah Feldman Bankruptcy courts have a lot of power, but [sometimes]( they go too far. — Matt Levine The Securities and Exchange Commission has [too much power](, according to the justices. — Stephen L. Carter [Bumpin’ That]( Other Reading Republicans, [stop the politics](. The FDIC needs a new chief. — Bloomberg’s editorial board The story of the [Easter Island collapse]( is changing. — F.D. Flam It’s time British politicians [learn the laws]( of insider trading. — Marc Rubinstein This game-changing [HIV shot]( can’t get to high-risk groups fast enough. — Lisa Jarvis Jaamal Bowman [lost against]( George Latimer because he’s a bad politician. — Francis Wilkinson ICYMI Oklahoma wants [public schools]( to teach the Bible. Team USA is bringing [air conditioning]( to Paris. Chipotle’s [portion size]( problem is real. What’s really [going down]( at the Washington Post? The [middle finger]( is a First Amendment right. Kickers Thanks, scientists, for this [terrifying]( smiling [robot](! You’re dating, but you haven’t [promoted him]( to the contact list. If you need to escape from the Russian army, [here’s how](. Jeremy Allen White [knows]( how to cut a nice piece of squid. The [Zoomers]( at Yankee Stadium miiight be getting perms. Notes: Please send squid and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. 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