Even though he stepped down 10 years ago, lululemon founder Chip Wilson continues to have a whole lot of opinions about the company he helped to start. Speaking rather candidly with Forbes during a recent interview about diversity, equity, and inclusion – although not for the first time – Wilson had disparaging things to say about the athleisure juggernaut. Head below for more details.
Wilson stepped down from lululemon in 2015 and lately, has been focusing on finding a cure for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) – a rare disease Wilson was diagnosed with in 1987 when he was 12 years old.
However, this hasn’t stopped him from slamming his former company, which has undoubtedly made him an incredibly rich man with an estimated worth of $8.7 billion. When speaking to Forbes about lululemon’s current lookbook, Wilson declared his distaste for lululemon’s “whole diversity and inclusion thing,” noting that the models chosen for advertisements look “unhealthy,” “sickly,” and “not inspirational.”
This is not the first time Wilson has aired his problematic opinions as he has frequently received backlash for fatphobic, anti-Asian, and sexist comments. Famously, when speaking of Japanese people, Wilson said he named lululemon as such because:
It’s a tough pronunciation for them. So I thought, next time I have a company, I’ll make a name with three Ls and see if I can get three times the money. It’s kind of exotic for them. I was playing with Ls and I came up with Lululemon. It’s funny to watch them try to say it.
Wilson has also spoken in favor of children working in factories so that they can avoid poverty and blamed birth control for rising divorce rates. In his interview with Forbes, Wilson said of his former company:
They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody. And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody… you’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.
Lululemon’s CEO, Calvin McDonald, recently posted a message on lululemon’s website, stating that the company is “accelerating programs to become a more inclusive and diverse company.” The irony of this is, of course, that lululemon’s recent Peloton partnership has come under fire for a lack of inclusive sizing with its co-branded clothing line.
As for lululemon’s response to Wilson’s disparaging comments, the company stated “Chip Wilson does not speak for lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs.”
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