When George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, brands across America practically jumped over each other to proclaim their support for Black Lives Matter and the broader cause of social and racial justice. Pringles’s Twitter account soon went dark in solidarity; Star Wars announced that it stood squarely against racism; Barbie promised to champion diversity; Amazon called for an end to “the inequitable and brutal treatment of black people” and put a “Black Lives Matter” banner at the top of its company home page. And on and on it went.

The Right, unsurprisingly, looked on these developments as further proof that the takeover of corporate America by an activist social justice agenda was complete. Some liberals, albeit approvingly, doubtless felt the same. It’s therefore both interesting and instructive to look back on this period in light of the recent wave of right-wing agitation designed to encourage large companies to distance themselves from various social justice causes.

This spring, Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch faced a seething right-wing backlash for their partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and consequently released a mealymouthed statement reading: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over beer.” Target, meanwhile, was hit with a barrage of right-wing complaints over LGBTQ merchandise and announced it would pull some of that merchandise from shelves.