Out actor Wilson Cruz has launched a
Change.org petition calling on fitness club Equinox to demand its
owner Stephen Ross cancel a fundraiser for President Donald Trump's
reelection campaign.
Ross is the chairman of Related
Companies, which owns Equinox Fitness. Equinox Fitness owns fitness
clubs PURE Yoga, Blink Fitness and SoulCycle. Ross also owns the
Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, the Time Warner Center and Hudson
Yards.
According to the
Washington
Post, Ross' fundraiser will take place at his home in the
Hamptons on Friday. Tickets start at $100,000 and go as high as
$250,000.
Cruz (Star Trek: Discovery)
suggested in his petition that Equinox had duped the LGBT community
into believing that the company was affirming and supportive of it.
“We joined this gym because we
believed it shared our values,” Cruz wrote. “We believed it was
a safe space for people like us. We believed that we were supporting
a company that was inclusive, accepting and celebrating our diversity
and supporting our physical and mental health as a community.”
“There is NO WAY that we as a
community can continue to support this business if you are actively
supporting an administration that puts us in danger and works towards
treating us like second-class citizens, and worse yet, subhuman.”
“PUT AN END TO THIS FUNDRAISER NOW!”
he
added.
Cruz's petition had more than 4,800
signatures as of Friday morning.
In a statement, Equinox distanced
itself and SoulCycle from the fundraiser, saying that they do not
support it.
“We want to let you know that Equinox
and SoulCycle have nothing to do with the event and do not support
it,” the company said. “Mr. Ross is a passive investor and is not
involved in the management of either business.”
Ross' net worth is estimated at $7.7
billion.