'Boycott Woolworths': TV preacher reacts to Pride campaign
The retailer recently revealed its campaign supporting the LGBTQ community during the month of June.
Featuring clothing and merchandise, the range is available in stores and online.
Last week, Woolworths introduced its Pride campaign to shoppers in line with the month of Pride, which celebrates the LGBTQ community.
Unlike previous years, the retailer turned off comments on their social media platforms, likely to curb criticism and homophobic comments from the public.
On Facebook, Christian preacher Errol Naidoo, who presents the shows Salt & Light and Watchmen on the Wall on TBN Africa, shared his scathing views of the campaign.
Naidoo – who is also the founder of South Africa's Family Policy Institute – posted: 'Woolworths appears to be the only retailer pushing LGBTQ 'Pride' indoctrination on its shoppers, including children'.
He continued: ''Pride' month and the destructive anti-family ideology it promotes have largely been discredited around the world. Woolworths sees no contradiction in promoting Father's Day and the sexual rights ideology that makes marriage and the family obsolete – in their stores'.
The ordained minister added: 'Boycott Woolworths in the month of June. Do not support sexual indoctrination'.
Woolworths appear to be the only retailer pushing LGBTQ 'pride' indoctrination on its shoppers including children…. Posted by Errol Naidoo on Friday 6 June 2025
Naidoo's comments come as many other social media users have condemned the campaign and threatened to boycott the stores.
While many corporations have skipped Pride campaigns this year out of fear of public backlash and financial repercussions, Woolworths has continued to stand firm with the LGBTQ community as proud allies.
However, the company has scaled back its in-store displays and turned off its social media comments. It has also shunned speaking out on its controversial stance.
Last year, the retailer stated that the campaign encouraged the public to 'own, express, and celebrate their identity.'
It added: 'Our Pride campaign is part of the Woolworths Inclusive Justice Initiative – acting against discrimination and marginalisation.'
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 .
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Jaya Naidoo and Justin Chetty triumph in thunee competition, winning R20 000
Jaya Naidoo and Justin Chetty. Image: Supplied Jaya Naidoo and Justin Chetty have defeated more than 200 participants and scooped R20 000 at a thunee competition held over the weekend at the Wildcoast Sun. The duo, from Tongaat, were crowned victorious after seven grueling rounds. Naidoo, 66, a hospitality and tourism lecturer at the Durban University of Technology and the general manager of FEDHASA East Coast, said thunee was a beloved South African card game, created by Indian forebears. "It is perfect for socialising, relaxation, and family entertainment. This sport is affordable and can be played almost anywhere," said Naidoo. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading He said he had won the competition three times previously with different partners. Naidoo and Chetty began playing together a year ago in the Hotshots and Phoenix Thunee League. 'I started playing at age 12 with my father, who was both my mentor and partner. After 54 years immersed in the game, I have accumulated experience, a passion for mentorship, and a commitment to empowering young players and promoting the growth of thunee,' said Naidoo. He said there was no qualifying criteria for the competition. Anyone familiar with the game was eligible to enter. 'A total of 100 teams participated. Each match was played as a 'best of three' with winners progressing to the next round. Teams that secured six consecutive wins qualified for the finals. 'Thunee is a simple game at heart, counting catches accurately and sticking to the basics are essential for success. It is an enjoyable, relaxing, and intellectually stimulating mind-mapping game." Naidoo said he would host a R100 000 thunee competition in September, before the Purtassi fast. "This will provide players with an opportunity to showcase their skills, unwind, and have a great time." He encouraged the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to formally recognise thunee as an indigenous game "so we can continue to grow it and empower the youth". Chetty, 43, a sales representative at an industrial tooling company, also started playing thunee at age 12. 'I used to watch my dad play and instantly took a liking and passion for the game,' said Chetty. 'I knew Jaya by sight for a long time, as he is a respected community leader and mentor, but he didn't know me. We met two years ago but started playing together in the Tongaat and Phoenix thunee leagues." Chetty said winning was indescribable. 'It's awesome, fulfilling, emotional and exciting all at once. It's a dream for any thunee player to win a major competition. I'm still basking in our victory as I'm still receiving compliments and congratulations from other opposition teams, friends and family. 'The competition was intense with some tough opposition but with skill and good cards, we achieved this remarkable fate. To play thunee, you have to be committed to the game, play fair and most of all, enjoy the game." Chetty will compete in Naidoo's R100 000 thunee competition in September. The details will be finalised. THE POST
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- TimesLIVE
African queer erotica unleashed
June is international LGBTQ+ Pride Month, a time to celebrate and recognise the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals in the world. To honour these celebrations, we asked Tiffany Kagure Mugo who, along with Siphumeze Khundayi, masterminded Kivuli & Nuru: The Afrodisiacs Collection. These albums, available on digital platforms, feature African erotic stories that delve into the world of desire. They're celebration of LGBTQ+ intimacies in the readers' own words and voices brought to you by HOLAAfrica, a pan-Africanist digital platform that focuses on sex and sexuality on the continent. Mugo and Khundayi are sex-positive practitioners who've taken their work around the world and onto global Ted Talk stages. Says Mugo, 'The albums are explorations into the different ways we love and lust in both covert and open ways. The Afrodisiacs Collection takes you on an audio journey through tales of immortality, coming home, gyrating in night clubs, or tempting daytime trysts in the middle of an afternoon.' They feature the words of artists like Mercy Thokozane Minah, writers such as Mia Arderne, prize-winning author Jarred Thompson, international authors like Nigerian Kobby Ben Ben, and a cameo from Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of the late Desmond Tutu. In Shadow, we find stories of longing, hidden desires and sometimes sensual despair. As the shadow half of the project, Kivuli deals with the 'dark' side of desire. Nuru is the light. This album is on the 'bright' side, exploring the sweet side of life — a crush , a fantasy fulfilled, a dream or something deliciously nasty. We asked Mugo about the albums. You've described Kivuli & Nuru as an exploration of the shadow and light of African desire. What do these metaphors mean to you? How have they shaped the curation of the stories? To paraphrase philosophers, we all have a little 'nasty' in us. Most people expose parts of their desire, keeping other parts hidden. There are reasons we hide things; shame, fear of societal judgment or the fact that they aren't anyone's business. Though desire seeps into everything humans do, it's shunned, vilified and relegated to the shadows. It takes a scandal or a special type of person to bring desire into the light. African desire has, historically, been policed and in the shadows, something suppressed and shameful. Despite this, the theme of 'shadow' and 'light' came about organically. For Kivuli & Nuru, the exploration of the tension in the work shaped itself. The themes, stories and experiences people shared fell into the two categories. When requesting stories, I simply said 'give me stories and make them sexy'. The contributors did the rest. The theme came about after the stories were chosen and we realised we had enough for two albums. How did the process of sourcing the stories from cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Cairo help reflect the diversity of queer African intimacy? What were the common threads or surprising differences that emerged? I'm a sucker for pan-Africanism and the diversity of the continent. The networks for finding the stories were already in place as HOLAAfrica! We've spent years asking people to think about their intimacies, fantasies, triumphs and misadventures, so sourcing stories was relatively simple. We wanted people to speak their realities in (literally) their own voices. The stories, though focused on the voices of queer people, are narratives experienced everywhere — between lovers and friends, a tryst in a club or when trying to decide whether to make a move on a neighbour. The human exploration of desire cuts across sexualities, contexts and countries. But you also realise how unique each person's experience is: each has their own flavour. The Afrodisiacs Collection invites listeners into a space that's both sensual and political. How does storytelling — especially audio erotica — become a form of resistance or reclamation for queer Africans? Stories about African bodies have been twisted into seeming animalistic and devious. From ideas of black women as baby-making machines during slavery to the modern-day 'Mandingo' (a word is used as a pejorative to describe a hypersexual black man), the idea of black love and intimacy is shrouded in myth, misconceptions and malice. With queer bodies that goes double. The constant questioning of what queer people do in the bedroom is funny at best, deeply disturbing at worst. A lot of the work that HOLAAfrica! does is to educate people about how to have healthy, holistic experiences and to create spaces in which queer people can actively speak about their experiences. After your work on Touch: Sex, Sexuality & Sensuality, how does T he Afrodisiacs Collection expand the conversation around African sensuality? I used the audiobook format to reach people who aren't keen to pick up a book, but who'd delve into voiced stories. This offering was a lot more about getting people out of their heads and into their bodies. Touch was a collection of essays: when you say the word 'essay' things get serious, fast. The idea of read stories adds a magical sprinkle to the pot of ideas and understanding. You've worked in sex positivity across many African countries. What has this journey taught you about the nuances of LGBTQ+ expression in private vs public spaces on the continent? Doing this work across contexts and countries (and sexualities) showed that queer and straight people are in the same streets, looking for the same things. Some are looking for long-term love, some are looking for a hook-up on Saturday night; we're all trying to figure it out. The work has shown me that desire is a tricky thing, no matter what country you're in or who you choose to sleep with. The human experience of desire is universal. The public spaces, where there's the politicisation of intimacies, are more acute. Different entities weaponise ideas around queer love and intimacy for various agendas.
The Citizen
7 days ago
- The Citizen
'It is so unfair and so hurtful': Stephanie Ndlovu defends Petronella Tshuma
Stephanie says she has endured a level of bullying that she has never experienced before. Actress and media personality Stephanie Ndlovu has broken her silence over recent social media speculation surrounding her divorce. Stephanie and her estranged husband, Hungani Ndlovu, released a statement over this past weekend confirming the end of their six-year marriage. Videos of the couple's podcast have since circulated on social media, fueling speculation about their relationship dynamic, with some users accusing Stephanie's friend, actress Petronella Tshuma, of breaking up her marriage. ALSO READ: Hungani and Stephanie confirm divorce, request privacy, grace, and compassion Stephanie addresses bullying Stephanie shared a video on Instagram on Wednesday addressing the speculations and online bullying she says she has faced recently. 'In the past few days or weeks, I have endured a level of bullying that I have never experienced in my life. I've been dragged. I've been told the kind of mother that I am, what kind of wife I am, the kind of Christian I am,' she said. Stephanie said while she had initially chosen to remain silent and stay off social media, the growing attacks on her friend prompted her to speak out. 'It is one thing for you guys to drag me and who you think I am. It's another thing for you guys to pull someone in who has absolutely nothing to do with Hungani's and my decision. 'It is so unfair and so hurtful that she is now having to deal with something she has nothing to do with. You are attacking her as a person, you're attacking her as a mother, you are finding every single loophole to reach her. Please stop…' she said. NOW READ: 'I live and breathe it': Sam Nhlengethwa moves his art into hotel setting
