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Robby Starbuck

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Robby Starbuck
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Music video director, activist
Years active2008–present
Notable workThe War on Children (2024)
Children3[1]

Robby Starbuck is an American conservative activist and former music video director. As an activist, he has campaigned against corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.[2]

Career

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Starbuck directed music videos and commercials in California before moving to Williamson County, Tennessee in 2019.[1] He then began investing in real estate and the stock market.[1]

Starbuck said he received pushback in Hollywood for identifying as Republican in 2015 and subsequently posting about his beliefs on social media.[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he campaigned against mask and vaccine mandates.[3][4] In 2021, Starbuck declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination to represent Tennessee's 5th congressional district.[5] The State Republican party removed him from the 2022 primary ballot, a decision ultimately upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.[5] Starbuck instead ran as a write-in candidate, but did not win the nomination.[1]

In June 2023, a photo agency issued a legal warning to Starbuck after he used a copyrighted paparazzi photo of Megan Fox and her family in a social media post which accused the actress of "child abuse" for allegedly forcing her children to wear girls clothes.[6] Fox responded to Starbuck's post by saying "Exploiting my child's gender identity to gain attention in your political campaign has put you on the wrong side of the universe."[6]

Anti-DEI activism

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In June 2024, Starbuck began campaigning on social media against companies unpopular with conservatives because of their DEI initiatives, support for LGBTQ+ events, climate change strategies, and related corporate policies.[3] Starbuck focused on brands that implemented these programs in recent years and which he saw as less likely to resist pressure.[3] His employees helped him research the companies' policies and their executives' backgrounds.[3] He targeted one company at a time, posting dozens of times over the course of weeks urging his followers to protest with their voices and wallets.[2] Tractor Supply was the first company to roll back their initiatives within that same month.[2][3] John Deere announced that it would no longer sponsor "social or cultural awareness" events and would audit all its training materials in July.[2][3] In August, Harley-Davidson, Brown-Forman, Lowe's, and Ford Motor Company rolled back several of their DEI initiatives and ended their respective relationships with Human Rights Campaign.[2][3][7] In September 2024, Molson Coors[8] and Caterpillar Inc.[9] did the same. In October 2024, Toyota followed suit.[10] In November 2024, Boeing Co. and Walmart rolled back their DEI initiatives after being targeted by Starbuck.[11][12] The New York Times commented that "Robby Starbuck may have scored his biggest win" to date with his successful pressure campaign against Walmart.[13]

A CNN review showed that most of the companies that altered their policies against Starbuck's pressure were making "performative tweaks".[14] Ford retained several of its DEI policies while the changes at John Deere were not as sweeping as Starbuck stated.[14] Walmart continued to focus on expanding opportunities for underrepresented suppliers.[14]

The War on Children

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Starbuck's documentary The War on Children, which streamed on X (formerly Twitter) in February 2024,[15] opposes gender-affirming care.[4] The documentary contains interviews with Riley Gaines, Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok, and US Senator Rand Paul, among others.[15] The film's website tagline states that it "exposes the WAR that's being waged on children today through gender ideology, ESG, CRT, sexualization of entertainment, sex trafficking, online exploitation, TikTok, Big Pharma and more".[16] The film promotes the conspiracy theory that toxic chemicals are responsible for causing children to identify as LGBTQ+.[17] News outlets have described the film as "anti-trans"[18] and "anti-LGBTQ+".[19]

Elon Musk recommended the film.[20] Musk also previously promoted the trailer, which then received over 30 million views.[4] A group planned to screen the film at a movie theater in Vernon, British Columbia, but another local group lobbied the theater to cancel the screening due to concerns about the film harming marginalized people and potentially violating the Human Rights Code of British Columbia.[21][22] In Ottawa County, Michigan, a commissioner promoted the film during a public meeting,[23] which may have been against county policy.[24]

Personal life

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Starbuck was raised by his mother and grandparents, who had fled Cuba in the 1960s.[1][2] He is married to Landon Starbuck, a musician who performed under the name of Matriarch. They have four children.[1]

Filmography

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DVD music

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Music videos

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Documentaries

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Allison, Natalie (June 18, 2021). "Robby Starbuck, a Franklin Republican, runs for Congress in Nashville with Rand Paul's endorsement". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Guynn, Jessica. "Inside Robby Starbuck's anti-DEI war on Tractor Supply, John Deere and Harley-Davidson". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Meyersohn, Nathaniel (August 28, 2024). "The right-wing activist riding a wave of opposition to DEI in corporate America". CNN. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Rogers, Taylor Nicole (September 4, 2024). "Robby Starbuck: the activist pushing US companies to ditch their DEI vows". Financial Times. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  5. ^ a b McCall, J. Holly; June 10, Tennessee Lookout. "Tennessee Supreme Court ends Starbuck's congressional bid • Tennessee Lookout". Tennessee Lookout.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Clark, Meredith (June 14, 2023). "Republican politician Robby Starbuck given legal warning over 'desperate' attack on Megan Fox's kids". The Independent. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Guynn, Jessica (August 29, 2024). "Ford becomes latest high-profile American company to pump brakes on DEI". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Styf, Jon (September 5, 2024). "Molson Coors announces DEI changes in response to conservative activist". The Center Square. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Green, Jeff (September 19, 2024). "Caterpillar Joins Ford, Lowe's in Diversity Rethink as Backlash Grows". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Green, Jeff (October 3, 2024). "Toyota Curbs DEI Policy After Activist Attack Over LGBTQ Support". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Green, Jeff (November 1, 2024). "Boeing Dismantles DEI Team as Pressure Builds on New CEO". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  12. ^ Green, Jeff (November 25, 2024). "Walmart, World's Biggest Retailer, Will Curb Diversity Efforts". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  13. ^ staff (November 26, 2024). "A big-box win for the anti-D.E.I. movement". New York Times.
  14. ^ a b c Meyersohn, Nathaniel (December 17, 2024). "DEI isn't actually dead". CNN. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Crimmins, Tricia (February 8, 2024). "Failed pro-Trump congressional candidate, wife team up for anti-trans doc starring Libs of TikTok". The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Witkos, Matt (February 14, 2024). "Local leader displays film ad which director claims 'there's a war on our children right now'". FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI). Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Adamczeski, Ryan (August 1, 2024). "Who is Robby Starbuck? This is the anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist convincing companies to drop DEI". Advocate. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  18. ^ Crimmins, Tricia (February 8, 2024). "Failed pro-Trump congressional candidate, wife team up for anti-trans doc starring Libs of TikTok". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  19. ^ Mitchell, Hillary (February 11, 2024). "Drag queen accuses anti-LGBTQ+ documentary of 'tricking' her into taking part". Pink News. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  20. ^ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (February 18, 2024). "Worth watching, especially for parents" (Tweet). Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Shykora, Brendan (June 12, 2024). "Vernon Cineplex draws criticism for screening anti-LGBTQ+ film during Pride Month". The Williams Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  22. ^ Michaels, Kathy (June 14, 2024). "Lawyers against Transphobia stops private film run in Vernon". Global News. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  23. ^ Gamble, Audra (February 14, 2024). "Commissioner displays 'war on children' sign to protest pastor over LGBTQ+ support". MLive. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Tunison, John (February 16, 2024). "Commissioner's 'war on children' sign violated county's new prayer policy, attorney says". MLive. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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