One Million Moms, an organization made up of Christian mothers, has organized an online petition pledging to boycott the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. The group notes that the parade will expose their families to LGBTQ+ performers. They are referring to likely performances from the Broadway musicals “& Juliet” and “Shucked,” both of which have cast members who identify as non-binary. Justin David Sullivan, who identifies as nonbinary and uses all pronouns, will star in performances from the musical “& Juliet,” which reimagines the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. According to the musical’s website, the musical “flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love
One Million Moms wrote in their petition, “Shame on Macy’s for promoting and sponsoring this type of entertainment. We still cannot trust Macy’s Dept. Store. It is clear that Macy’s does not have our children’s best interests in mind. Macy’s needs to know that trust must be earned, and once trust is lost, it is difficult to get back.” Macy’s did not comment on the petition, but reaffirmed their plans to proceed as normal. “We look forward to celebrating this iconic Thanksgiving tradition again next week,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
One Million Moms has previously made headlines for launching campaigns against organizations who they claim are pushing “objectionable content.” Earlier this year, the group bashed Viacom in a statement for airing the MTV Music Awards on Nickelodeon, saying the performers exhibit “sexually explicit choreography.” The statement read, “The sexually explicit content on this program is inappropriate for anyone — especially children. I am appalled that Viacom would air mature content such as the VMAs on Nickelodeon, its children’s network. The VMAs is an awards show that includes graphic content, and it should never be permitted on a children’s network. I urge Viacom to never allow this to happen again.”