Businesses Coming Out Against Indiana Get Slammed for Hypocrisy

image
Published: 03 Apr, 2015
1 min read

The Washington Post created a video montage of some of the best late-night jokes surrounding the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was recently revised by the Indiana Legislature and Governor Mike Pence to explicitly protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination.

The jokes didn't just take aim at the state or its officials, but some of the responses to the bill as well.

"The NCAA, Apple, and Yelp have all protested the law and have threatened not to expand their operations in Indiana," Seth Meyers said on NBC's The Late Night Show with Seth Meyers. "Also, Apple announced they're leaving China and the NCAA announced they're going to start paying student athletes... nah... I'm just f***ing with you."

Read Tim Cook's op-ed criticizing Indiana's new law.

Under Meyers' joke is a lingering truth about the hypocrisy that exists in such self-righteous statements from companies that do business in countries like China, where factory conditions are poor, or countries where being gay is actually illegal.

There is nothing wrong with company heads coming out against bills that opponents say could give some companies the legal justification for discriminating against members of the LGBT community or anyone. However, it comes off as a form of grandstanding because there is a level of hypocrisy to it, and there is no reason why these businesses should not be called out for this hypocrisy.

"When Tim Cook is upset about all the places that he does business because of the way they treat gays and women, he needs to withdraw from 90% of the markets that he's in, including China and Saudi Arabia," Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina recently said. "But I don't hear him being upset about that."

Read the full article from Business Insider here.

Image: Apple CEO Tim Cook / Source: ABC News

You Might Also Like

Prisoner Wearing Virtual Reality Headset
California is Using Virtual Reality on People in Prison, and It's Working
In California, the birthplace of much of the world’s technology innovation, virtual reality is being used in an unexpected setting: inside prisons....
12 Jan, 2026
-
2 min read
inmate in cell.
California Prison Health Care Is Still Failing: Audit Exposes Dangerous Conditions Despite Billions in Funding
Job vacancies in prison and state hospital health care have grown even as California has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fill medical and mental health positions, according to a new state audit....
08 Jan, 2026
-
5 min read
USPS trucks parked next to each other.
2026 Will See an Increase in Rejected Mail-In Ballots -- Here's Why
While the media has kept people’s focus on the Epstein files, Venezuela, or a potential invasion of Greenland, the United States Postal Service adopted a new rule that will have a broad impact on Americans – especially in an election year in which millions of people will vote by mail....
09 Jan, 2026
-
9 min read