Ivanka Trump is continuing to support her father Donald Trump’s presidential campaign following his “locker room talk” and multiple sexual assault allegations, but not without significant backlash. Shoppers are now boycotting her clothing and accessories line, Ivanka Trump Collection, and using the hashtag #grabyourwallet (a reference to her father’s language in the “hot mic” tape) to make their protest known. And they aren’t just refusing to buy her clothes: They’re also declining to shop at retailers that carry the line until her merchandise is pulled from shelves.
The movement’s growth could be pinned to Shannon Coulter, a technology and media marketing specialist, who was particularly moved to take action against Ivanka once she continued to support her father following the release of the Access Hollywoodtape.
“When I heard Donald Trump talking on that tape, I recognized in his words the same feeling that I had that day – of being nothing more than an object,” Coulter told The Guardian, recalling her own history of sexual harassment. “No matter how smart you are or how hard you work, they can do that to us.”
Coulter was especially compelled to boycott the line due to the fact that Trump has always positioned it as “for the working woman” and continues to promote it as such. “If Ivanka Trump had distanced herself from the campaign I would not be boycotting her. But something changed for me when that tape was released,” Coulter said.
She spearheaded the Twitter hashtag #GrabYourWallet, a play on Donald’s infamous “locker room talk” comment saying he would “grab” women “by the p—y.” The Guardian reports that more than a million people viewed Coulter’s posts, while 50,000 have responded with support and 2,000 have said they will participate. Those already on board are boycotting retailers carrying the line, including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Amazon, Lord & Taylor, Marshalls and Zappos until merchandise is removed.
At Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women conference in Laguna Niguel, California, the New Yorker reports that managing editor of Time magazine, Nancy Gibbs, interviewed Ivanka and asked about the dichotomy of leading a brand that champions working women while also supporting her father who is being accused of multiple sexual assults.
“My brand was launched far before the presidential cycle commenced and will continue long afterwards,” Ivanka said. “I’ve always tried to maintain complete separation between that and the campaign. With that said, you know, one of the challenging things is just operating, living one’s life, with the intensity and the scrutiny of this process is a very hard thing actually to do.”
Ivanka also explained why she accepted her father’s apology after his lewd comments on Access Hollywood leaked. “He recognizes it was crude language,” she explained. “He was embarrassed that he said those things, and he apologized. That’s not language consistent with any conversation I’ve ever had with him, or any conversation I’ve ever overheard, so it was a bit jarring to hear. I think he was sincere in his apology.”
Recently this year her brand was sued by footwear brand Aquazzura for copying “nearly every detail” from a popular sandal design and had roughly 20,000 scarves recalled by the CPSC for having an above-average burn risk, while its employees have criticized her for touting a national maternity leave policy while not offering one at her own company.
[Source:-People]
