Protesters March on Equinox, Members Said Gym Still ‘Packed’

Protesters chant slogans and hold signs outside the luxury gym Equinox in West Hollywood,
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters in West Hollywood Friday marched outside an Equinox fitness club in opposition to the owner’s support of President Trump.

Reports said that about 100 people gathered outside the gym on Sunset Boulevard to encourage members to boycott the Equinox and SoulCycle brands. However, members told the Daily Mail that the gym was “packed” despite the protests.

Gonzalo Garcia, 39, who organized the protest with his friend Adam Bass, said “I don’t want to see [Trump] reelected for another four years. I don’t think we’ll be able to recover if he is.”

Other individuals at the event cited the president’s ban on transgenders in the military and his rhetoric when speaking about people of color and immigrants as reasons why they attended the protest.

Stephen Ross, the billionaire who owns a large amount of stake in Equinox and SoulCycle, released a statement on August 7 after the fallout regarding a fundraising dinner for President Trump planned for August 9.

“I always have been an active participant in the democratic process. While some prefer to sit outside of the process and criticize, I prefer to engage directly and support the things I deeply care about,” the statement read. “I have known Donald Trump for 40 years, and while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others and I have never been bashful about expressing my opinions.”

Ross concluded by saying he would continue to be “an outspoken champion of racial equality, inclusion, diversity, public education and environmental sustainability, and I have and will continue to support leaders on both sides of the aisle to address these challenges.”

However, Breitbart News reported that well-known Hollywood leftists announced they were cancelling their memberships to the gym and encouraged others to do the same.

“That’s it! Just cancelled my @SoulCycle membership!” Tweeted documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.

Additionally, celebrity chef David Chang urged Ross to consider cancelling the fundraising dinner.

“It flies in the face of everything we believe at Momofuku. it frightens many of the people that work for you, and it contradicts much of what I hoped to accomplish by taking your money in the first place,” said Chang.

Despite the recent fallout, Breitbart News reported Friday that President Trump had raised $12 million dollars at two fundraisers in the Hamptons this week, one of which was hosted by Ross.

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