Leading LGBTQ+ newsroom confronts parent company over board member’s MAGA support

The editorial staff of some of the country’s most prominent LGBTQ+ publications presented a united front Monday, publicly demanding answers from their parent company equalpride after a report revealed that one of its board members had expressed support for President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

The controversy came just two weeks after equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill enthusiastically announced that Jay Katari would take a more active role across the company. Equalpride has owned the LGBTQ+ news brands The Advocate, Out, Pride.com, Out Traveler and Plus since 2022 and acquired Them this year.

In an August 31 email to employees, Berryhill said Katari “genuinely loves what we do at equalpride and believes deeply in our mission.”

“I have full confidence in Jay,” Berryhill wrote, describing him as an adviser whose business experience and professional network could help equalpride “think bigger, open new doors, create new opportunities” and enter its next phase of growth.

Berryhill told employees that Katari would contact each of them individually. He asked staff to “make the time and prioritize the opportunity to connect with him.”

Those meetings were intended to help Katari understand employees’ work, along with the opportunities and challenges they saw, Berryhill wrote. The invitation extended across the company, including to people working in editorial and social media.

By Monday morning, the company’s posture had abruptly changed.

During an internal meeting, Berryhill told employees he had been surprised by an inquiry from independent journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas and planned to question Katari about the newly discovered revelations.

Berryhill said not everything is always known about board members, and insisted that Katari’s responsibilities were limited to developing new revenue sources and that he would never play an editorial role. When employees noted that Katari had already met with at least one person involved in editorial or social media and had sought other meetings, Berryhill halted those conversations.

Later Monday, editors from The Advocate, Out, Them, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and HIV Plus issued a joint statement saying they had only recently learned about Katari’s expanding role and had received no prior information about his background or political statements.

“Our editors became aware of concerning reports this morning that Jay Katari — one of the board members of our parent company, equalpride — may have espoused beliefs that are antithetical to the mission of our brands,” the editors said.

The staff, made up of queer and trans journalists, including people of color, also drew a firm line around their work. “Please know that Katari’s position has not influenced our reporting,” the editors wrote.

The statement followed an investigation by Ortega-Rojas, who documented social media activity that he said showed Katari wearing a MAGA hat, circulating pro-Trump imagery, mocking former President Joe Biden, and following members of the Trump family and senior administration officials.

Ortega-Rojas did not identify a public statement in which Katari directly attacked LGBTQ+ people.

Katari, an entrepreneur and investor, serves on equalpride’s board and was recently named its “Strategic Advisor, Growth & Innovation.” His company biography says he will help expand equalpride’s reach, establish commercial partnerships, develop recurring revenue, and build products, services, and experiences for LGBTQ+ people and allies.

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has mounted an administration-wide campaign against LGBTQ+ rights, with transgender people bearing the brunt. He has ordered the federal government to recognize only two immutable sexes, rescinded Biden-era nondiscrimination and LGBTQ+ health equity policies, restricted transgender Americans’ passports, moved to expel transgender service members, limited gender-affirming care in federal prisons and veterans’ programs, sought to withhold federal support from providers offering such care to young people, and directed schools to exclude transgender girls and women from women’s sports.

His administration has also eliminated specialized 988 crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth, abandoned protections for transgender students, pursued hospitals and medical organizations, and used federal funding and civil rights enforcement to pressure states, schools, and institutions that recognize transgender people.

Berryhill told employees Monday that equalpride came to know Katari through a private equity fund that has helped finance the company for several years. Katari is an investor in that fund, which holds interests in businesses across several industries, Berryhill said.

Berryhill told employees that he shared their shock and concern. He said the company needed time to investigate before providing a detailed public response.

The editors said they had urged management to clarify Katari’s role and were awaiting more information. They pledged to continue independent reporting in service of the LGBTQ+ community.

The controversy arrives during a turbulent period for equalpride. The company laid off journalists and editors at The Advocate, Out, and Pride.com shortly before acquiring Them from Condé Nast in February. Several existing Them staffers were cut during the acquisition process.

Katari had not publicly responded to the reporting as of Monday. Equalpride did not respond to The Advocate's request for comment.

This story is developing.

Editor’s note: The Advocate is owned by equalpride, and its editorial team signed the joint statement described in this report.