Kroger Boycott Hoax by Right Wing Pastors

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics USA (Commentary)

LAS VEGAS — (August 17, 2025) — This reporter for JRL CHARTS isn’t sitting quietly on this one. In my view, the 80 anti-LGBTQ pastors pushing a boycott of Kroger are desperate, dishonest, and recycling propaganda that doesn’t hold up under the light of day. Their so-called “boycott threat” is nothing more than fearmongering dressed up as religion — and it needs to be called out.

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Eighty Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian pastors are waging a tired boycott campaign against supermarket giant Kroger. Their demand? That Kroger “drop the LGBTQ+ agenda” or face the wrath of their congregations.

The pastors sent a letter to interim Kroger CEO Ronald Sargent claiming the company’s support for LGBTQ+ employees and customers is a corporate liability. They even tried spinning Kroger’s plan to close 60 underperforming stores as proof of a “woke collapse.” The truth? Kroger itself has been clear — the closures are a cost-saving move to improve efficiency and reinvest in customer experience. Nothing to do with LGBTQ+ support.

Kroger’s Record of LGBTQ+ Support

On Kroger’s official website, the company states plainly:

“We proudly stand with our LGBTQ+ associates, customers and vendors in making our company brighter and better.”

The grocery chain highlights partnerships with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and offers Pride-themed apparel, rainbow-packaged products, and dedicated LGBTQ+ brand promotions. Far from “radical,” it’s simply Kroger doing what smart businesses do — serving and celebrating all of their customers.

Facts the Boycotters Ignore

Right-wing media outlets frame Kroger as vulnerable because of its footprint in so-called “red states.” But they ignore reality: Kroger operates 2,719 stores nationwide, including massive presences in major cities such as Houston (35 stores) and Cincinnati (27 stores). The chain’s reach extends across rural and urban America alike.

The idea that closing underperforming stores has anything to do with LGBTQ+ Pride is pure propaganda. These pastors are deliberately misleading their followers, and in the process, insulting Kroger’s actual customer base.

The Letter of Fearmongering

The boycott letter attempts to dress up bigotry in biblical quotes, warning Kroger not to “upset the applecart.” The rhetoric drips with insecurity, suggesting that respecting LGBTQ+ employees is somehow a corporate threat. In reality, it’s the boycott itself that looks weak and outdated — a desperate attempt to revive a culture war that fewer and fewer Americans are buying into.

(Read Letter)
2025-CLERGY-LETTER-TO-KROGERS-OVER-WOKISM-1

JRL CHARTS Calls It Out

At JRL CHARTS, we’re not letting these insecure religious opportunists hide behind pulpits while pushing fear. They claim they’re “protecting their congregants,” but what they’re really doing is recycling the same tired talking points that keep them politically relevant.

It is truly pathetic that in 2025, a coalition of pastors still thinks spewing dark-age ideology will go unchecked. Well — not here on JRL CHARTS.

Once again, JRL CHARTS pulls the mask off right-wing propaganda and shows LGBTQ readers the truth: we’re not buying their fake outrage — and neither should you. Stay with JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics USA for facts, not fear.

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