UK Gay Times Battles Collapse in Ad Revenue as Anti-Diversity Pressure Mounts

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Gay Times Battles Collapse in Ad Revenue as Anti-Diversity Pressure Mounts

 

Gay Times, the long-running British LGBTQ+ magazine, has suffered a devastating collapse in advertising revenue, losing 80 percent of its advertisers in just one year. According to chief executive Tag Warner, the steep decline is tied to a coordinated and “well-funded anti-diversity effort” in the United States — a backlash that began before Donald Trump’s latest assault on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives.

 

 

Speaking about the current climate, Warner said, “It seems like LGBT+ inclusion was something that everybody wants to do but now hardly anybody wants to do.” He described the broader implications for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the economic impact on freelancers and the cancellation of major Pride events that can no longer secure corporate sponsorship. “We’ve seen entire Prides being cancelled because they don’t have funding any more. I know of hundreds of freelancers in the industry that rely on advertising and marketing campaigns to pay their bills. And now those bills aren’t being paid,” he said.

 

The financial blow to the publication has been severe. Campaign, a prominent advertising industry magazine, reports that Gay Times has lost more than £5 million in advertiser spending since the beginning of last year. The shortfall has forced the publication to make staff redundancies and pivot toward a reader investment model in an effort to stay afloat.

 

Warner pointed to unnamed conservative groups that have worked to dissuade companies from engaging in inclusive marketing, warning that this pressure began well before Trump re-entered the White House and dismantled DEI programs within the federal government. “The headwinds began at the beginning of 2024,” Warner said. “Everyone thinks it must have started and got really bad [after Trump]. It really didn’t.”

 

He explained that many of the advertising deals that were withdrawn were close to completion when brands suddenly pulled out. “Plans to renew contracts or launch new campaigns were often more than 70 percent complete when they were pulled,” he said, singling out the U.S. retailer Target as one company that abandoned its previously stated three-year diversity goals.

 

The shift in corporate behavior has not gone unnoticed in the wider advertising world. Leila Siddiqi, director of diversity and inclusion at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, acknowledged the growing trend of businesses quietly scaling back their diversity commitments amid rising political and economic tension. “What was once viewed as a vital part of ESG [environmental, social and governance] strategy is now, in some boardrooms, being reframed as a liability,” she said.

 

Siddiqi warned that the abandonment of inclusive values in pursuit of short-term financial or reputational risk management could backfire. “Pulling support from marginalised voices may provide short-term savings or risk mitigation, but it could carry long-term cultural, reputational and brand equity consequences,” she added.

 

As LGBTQ+ media outlets like Gay Times fight to survive in an increasingly hostile environment, the broader implications for representation, visibility, and cultural progress remain stark — and unresolved.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-06-27