Following the removal of a University of California, Davis event from Eventbrite’s website in November, Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin has taken action to boycott the popular event platform. The event, featuring Save Women’s Sports spokeswoman Riley Gaines, was denied by Eventbrite, citing violations of their “woke community guidelines and terms of service.”
According to Eventbrite’s notification to the Davis College Republicans, the event was deemed to be in violation of their community guidelines and terms of service, which prohibits content or events that discriminate against, harass, or incite violence against individuals or groups based on their race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other factors. As a result, the event was removed from the platform.
Gaines, who plays a key role in advocating for the protection of women’s sports, reacted to the news by calling on supporters to give Eventbrite the “Bud Light treatment.” This call to action caught the attention of Governor Youngkin, who has since directed his team to pull all of his events from the platform, citing it as “insane” that Eventbrite would remove an event featuring Gaines, yet allow events promoting support for Hamas to remain on their platform.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is pulling his event listings off of Eventbrite pic.twitter.com/PniU2DOBsu
— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) October 30, 2023
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Eventbrite had allowed events such as “Stop the Genocide! Free Palestine!” and “Carnage in Palestine: Oppression, Complicity, and Ethical Responsibility” to be advertised on their platform. However, these events have now been listed as “unavailable.”
In the face of criticism, Eventbrite co-founder, Kevin Hartz, took to Twitter to defend the platform and express his position on the matter. He strongly refuted accusations that Eventbrite supports “genocidal maniacs” and even responded with an inappropriate remark to one of the critics.
During a recent interview on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show, Governor Youngkin affirmed that he has instructed both his political committee and office staff to eliminate all events listed on Eventbrite. Furthermore, he urged listeners to refrain from using the platform and decline any invitations to Eventbrite events as a means to convey a powerful message.
I love all the people in my comments saying they’ve deleted their Eventbrite account. Give ’em the Bud Light treatment
🚨Newsflash: being a woman and advocating for such isn’t a hate crime.🚨 pic.twitter.com/EQmh2JbcF1
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 26, 2023
Great news! The event with Gaines is still happening, and the Davis College Republicans have kindly shared a sign-up link for those interested. Gaines, renowned for her passionate advocacy for women’s sports, has demonstrated remarkable resilience and encourages her supporters to attend this event.
In conclusion, Governor Youngkin’s choice to boycott Eventbrite has a profound impact, sending a clear message that discrimination and bias will not be tolerated. It serves as a reminder to event platforms to uphold neutrality and refrain from discriminating against individuals or groups based on their beliefs or identity.
