A board member of a gay media empire was seemingly pushed out his role after an employee uproar over his expression of support for President Donald Trump on social media.
Jay Katari resigned from the board of equalpride, a parent company that owns prominent LGBTQ magazines and outlets such as The Advocate, Out, and Them after journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas dug up a photo of the Utah-based businessman sporting a read hat reading “Trump” and “Keep America Great.”
Katari was tapped as a “Strategic Advisor, Growth & Innovation” just two weeks earlier, according to The Advocate, one of equalpride’s magazines — but his name has since been scrubbed from the LGBTQ-focused media firm’s website.
The fallout began when Ortega-Rojas, a Substack journalist, reported that Katari had been “quietly” added to equalpride’s board and scoured his social media history.
In one image posted to Facebook in May 2024, Katari is seem sporting the red Trump hat alongside three men on a balcony.
Ortega-Rojas pointed out other signs of what he called a potential “conflict” with the LGBTQ mission, such as following Trump family members on social media or posts appearing to bash former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
His bio includes pronouns listed as “dude/bro/guy/man/Jedi,” which was seen as mocking the practice originating in the trans community of listing preferred pronouns. Katari also showed support for Israel, according to a Facebook post that The Post found, one of the few explicitly political positions he’s taken online.
The findings infuriated editorial staff at the equalpride’s newsrooms, who went to leadership to ask about Katari’s role and publicly distanced their work from the exec. He resigned soon after.
Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill announced the departure in an email to employees.
The editorial team applauded Katari’s resignation in a statement to The Advocate, one of equalpride’s magazines.
“As a small team of queer and trans journalists, we were deeply concerned by reports that an equalpride board member had a history of expressing support for Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda on social media,” the statement said. “Given this administration’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, it was immediately clear to us that his involvement with the company was untenable.”
The California Post reached out to equalpride for comment. The Post also made multiple attempts to reach out to Katari.
Katari, in a statement shared by Berryhill, said he “never intended for my involvement to cause disruption within a community I hold dear and deeply respect.”
“My intention was simply to volunteer my time and experience to support the incredible team and the important work they do for the LGBTQ+ community,” Katari said.
Katari apparently joined the board under an agreement that the company’s lead investor group could appoint two directors without CEO or management approval, the Advocate reported. That agreement has since ended.
Katari is a serial entrepreneur with multiple businesses centered on autism and helping people with disabilities. According to a company bio, he was born in Canada but moved to Florida to finish high school and college.
The former board member hasn’t expressed any explicit anti-LGBTQ sentiments in his social media profiles, according to a review by The Post.
He previously donated $10,000 to former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and gave $2,000 to Kentucky politician Christopher Thieneman, according to OpenSecrets.
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