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Meet Robby Starbuck, the right-wing, anti-woke activist who took on Walmart: from making music videos for Snoop Dogg, Akon and The Smashing Pumpkins, to targeting DEI initiatives in corporate America
STORYLynn Farah
He claims that policies aiming to protect minority or marginalised groups are ‘evil’ and a ‘Trojan horse for pushing leftism’, and has successfully pressured major companies into reversing course
Robby Starbuck rose to prominence in 2024 after he campaigned against “woke policies” at retailers and corporates across America, resulting in the back-pedalling of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programmes.
The DEI programmes are largely a mix of employee training and policies that aim to protect minority or marginalised groups.
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DEI initiatives aim to correct historical discrimination, but right-leaning pundits claim the policies unfairly target white people. Starbuck has been at the forefront of “exposing” such programmes, with Walmart most recently dialling back on some of its DEI policies.
But just who is the man who’s produced and directed music videos for artists like Snoop Dogg, Akon, Megadeth and The Smashing Pumpkins, and is now a conservative “anti-woke” activist? Here’s what we know.
Big changes at Walmart
Starbuck made headlines in November last year after Walmart announced it would roll back some of its DEI programmes, following sustained pressure from him, per Forbes.
Although Walmart, which is America’s No 1 retailer and largest private employer, said it had been reviewing its DEI policies before engaging with Starbuck, the company did admit that some of the changes were because of the “anti-woke activist”, reports CNBC.
The changes include closing the company’s racial equity centre, reviewing supplier diversity programmes, and ending racial equity training programmes, according to Forbes.
The New York Post reported that Starbuck detailed the changes Walmart had agreed to make, having threatened consumer boycotts against the retailer.