Drag queen Pattie Gonia calls Patagonia lawsuit attempt ‘erase an activist’
Drag queen Pattie Gonia, born Wyn Wile, says Patagonia’s trademark infringement lawsuit is an attempt to “erase an activist,” warning it could permanently take away her name and expose her to more than $1 million in legal fees. Patagonia, which filed suit in J
When drag queen Pattie Gonia walked into the “Save Her!. Environmental Drag Show” during Climate Week on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York City, she was showing the kind of work she says she fights for every day. Now she’s facing a legal battle that she says targets the very name she uses to turn activism into action.
Gonia, born Wyn Wile, is speaking out as Patagonia— the California-based outdoor apparel brand—continues a trademark infringement lawsuit tied to her use of the “Pattie Gonia” name. She is calling on the company to drop the case, saying Patagonia is “a corporation trying to erase an activist.”
In a recent Instagram post, Gonia said the real stakes are personal and financial. “What they’re actually trying to do is take away my name permanently and threaten me with more than $1M million dollars in legal fees,” she wrote.
Patagonia first filed suit against Wile in January of this year after she applied to trademark “Pattie Gonia.” In its complaint. the company accused the entertainer of selling Pattie Gonia merchandise. including products that Patagonia says use designs similar to its own logos—an overlap it argues has confused consumers and does not align with a 2022 agreement the performer made with the company.
The lawsuit also alleges the trademark application “reflects Pattie Gonia’s departure from discrete use of a persona to engage in activism and confirms Defendants’ intent instead to launch a wide-ranging commercial enterprise under the PATTIE GONIA brand.” Patagonia’s claims include trademark infringement and federal dilution of its famous mark.
Patagonia is asking for $1 in damages plus attorneys’ fees, along with an order blocking Wile from using the “Pattie Gonia” trademark.
In a January statement made around the time it filed the lawsuit. Patagonia said it “wished ‘we didn’t have to do this.’” The brand said it believes Gonia’s attempt to trademark “Pattie Gonia” would “directly overlap with the work we do and the products we provide – for which we have longstanding rights and trademark registrations.”.
Gonia’s position is that the lawsuit threatens more than a business dispute. She says it could strip away “my activism and my career. ” and also “the livelihoods of the team I employ.” She insists she sees only two choices: erasing “my name. my advocacy. my community. and everyone I employ” or fighting.
“I’m fighting, and I’m inviting you to join me in a simple call to action: Patagonia, drop the lawsuit,” the performer said.
Gonia acknowledged that she entered into an agreement with Patagonia in 2022. But she said it “wasn’t a broad agreement about my future.” She said filing the trademark application was about protecting the Pattie Gonia likeness from anyone else who might want to use it, “not because of Patagonia.”
She also argued that Patagonia “chose this exact moment, the height of anti-LGBTQ+ politics and attacks on the environment, to sue me.” Gonia shared a video that mirrors the written statement posted online.
On her website, an open letter to Patagonia lays out how she says the conflict unfolded after the lawsuit began. In it. she writes that once the case was filed. “I started immediately pursuing an amicable settlement.” The letter adds: “This lawsuit serves no good purpose. Let’s make peace and get back to our common love of the planet including our namesake region in South America named Patagonia.”.
Patagonia, for its part, says it tried to prevent this from becoming an all-out fight. On Wednesday. the company shared a statement saying it had attempted to “find a path forward that would allow Pattie Gonia to continue their work while also protecting the Patagonia trademark.” It said “Unfortunately. we could not reach an agreement.”.
The company said it has a “responsibility” to protect the trademark and insisted the lawsuit was not for “financial gain.” “The last thing we wanted was a legal fight with someone who shares our values, but we must protect our business and employees,” Patagonia said.
The pressure points are clear: Patagonia wants to stop what it says is trademark overlap and protect its brand, while Gonia says the case is aimed at taking away her identity and her ability to do environmental activism under the name she has built.
ABC News has reached out to Pattie Gonia and Patagonia for further comment.
Pattie Gonia Wyn Wile Patagonia lawsuit trademark infringement LGBTQ+ rights climate activism environmental drag show