MAGA and LGBTQ+ media are not exactly the pairing you would expect to see in the same company bio. Yet that was briefly the reality at Equalpride, the media company behind The Advocate, Out, Pride.com, Out Traveler, Plus, and Them.
Jay Katari was recently brought on as Equalpride’s “Strategic Advisor, Growth & Innovation” and joined its board of directors. Then LGBTQ+ staff started asking questions. Less than a week later, Katari was out and his name is no longer listed on the website.
So, What Happened?
Here’s Why with Kevin Ortega-Rojas
The drama started after independent journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas published an independent investigation into Katari’s social media history, particularly his MAGA, Trump support history.
Among the material highlighted in his reporting was a photo of Katari wearing a MAGA hat bearing the words “TRUMP 2020. Keep America [Great].” Ortega-Rojas also pointed to other pro-Trump content, including MAGA imagery and posts involving members of the Trump family and senior Trump officials. Noticeably, any MAGA-related material or post has since been deleted/archived from Katari’s Instagram.
Another detail that raised eyebrows was Katari’s social media bio, which listed “Pronouns: dude/bro/guy/man/Jedi” as his pronouns. Ortega-Rojas characterized the bio as mocking the trans community.
There is an important distinction here: Ortega-Rojas did not identify a public statement from Katari directly attacking LGBTQ+ people. The concerns were about the political views and social media activity documented in his reporting, particularly given the position Katari had just taken within an LGBTQ+ media company.
And people working inside those LGBTQ+ publications were not exactly going to ignore it.
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The Queer Newsrooms Spoke Up
Editors from The Advocate, Out, and Them issued a joint statement saying they had become aware of reports that Katari may hold beliefs they considered inconsistent with the mission of their brands. On top of that, their joint statement showed that the editorial team were unaware of Katari’s “past political statements.”
They also made one thing very clear to readers: Katari’s position had not influenced their journalism.
That public statement came only weeks after equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill had introduced Katari to employees. In an August 31 email, Berryhill described Katari as someone who believed in the company’s mission and could help the business expand and find new opportunities.
Then came the plot twist.
Katari Is Now Out
On September 15, Berryhill announced that Katari had resigned from the board. His name and biography were subsequently removed from Equalpride’s website.
Katari said he had intended to volunteer his time and experience to support Equalpride and its LGBTQ+ work. He also said he never intended for his involvement to cause disruption and wished the company continued success.
However, he did not address the MAGA-related social media activity that had triggered the controversy.
As for how he got there in the first place, Berryhill explained that equalpride’s investment agreements allowed its lead investor group to appoint two board members without separate approval from the CEO or management. Katari joined through that arrangement. The investor group has now given Berryhill authority to appoint future board members. This predicament has been corrected according to Berryhill in that he has been given authority to appoint future board members, according to The Advocate.
So yes, this particular MAGA chapter at equalpride was remarkably short.
The bigger story is that LGBTQ+ journalists did not simply shrug when questions arose about who was sitting above their newsrooms. They asked for answers, made their position clear, and kept doing their jobs while the company dealt with the fallout.
Managing Editor’s Note from Instinct:
We applaud Equalpride for asking those internal questions as to “what is going on” and “what are we doing”. The LGBTQ journalism world is small. We all know each other and we all know what goes on at other outlets. The swift response from the Equalpride family to resolve what they felt was an issue for their news outlet should be cheered, not jeered. They took care of the concern, instead of covering things up or looking the other way or letting people go, which seems the trend these days in ‘Merika. Maintaining your voice is so important in the world today. Bravo.