In an open letter and video, the climate activist and drag queen breaks her silence on the active federal trademark infringement suit with Patagonia, challenging the outdoor giant’s core values.
For the first time since the lawsuit was filed, Pattie Gonia issued a public statement asking Patagonia to drop the lawsuit (Photo: Samuel Crossley)
Published May 27, 2026 12:00PM
For the first time since outdoor apparel manufacturer Patagonia filed its lawsuit against drag queen Pattie Gonia, the climate activist is publicly firing back.
On May 27, Pattie Gonia released a video and an open letter to Patagonia, asking the company to drop its legal claim that she violated a trademark agreement between the two.
“If your executives and lawyers continue to pursue this lawsuit, it will make one thing clear: They are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to grind me down so far that I can’t continue to operate,” reads a letter sent to Patagonia and also to Outside.
In response, a spokesperson from Patagonia referred Outside to a company statement addressing the lawsuit. According to the statement, Pattie Gonia violated the agreement by selling branded apparel online featuring versions of the Patagonia logo. In 2025, Pattie Gonia then filed a trademark application that Patagonia said posed long-term threats to the company’s brand and activism.
“We’re not against art, creative expression, or commentary about our brand. We want Pattie to have a long and successful career and make progress on issues that matter—but in a way that respects Patagonia’s intellectual property and ability to use our brand to sell products and advocate for the environment,” Patagonia wrote at the time of its lawsuit filing.
Pattie Gonia, a 2022 Outside Outsider of the Year, is the drag name of Wynn Wiley, 33. Pattie Gonia advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and for the protection of public land and the environment. Since 2018, she has built a social media platform with over 3 million followers.
On January 21, Patagonia filed a lawsuit against Pattie Gonia in a California court. According to court documents sent to Outside, the lawsuit concerns Pattie Gonia’s alleged use of Patagonia’s trademarks. Patagonia claims that Pattie Gonia violated a prior agreement regarding the use of the company’s name and logo, stating that Pattie Gonia’s recent trademark application was her “departure from discrete use of a persona to engage in activism” to instead “launch a wide-ranging commercial enterprise.”
“This enterprise contradicts [Pattie Gonia’s] prior promises, and appropriates Patagonia’s brand and identity in a way that has already confused consumers, and will continue to confuse consumers, about Patagonia’s role in producing or sponsoring Pattie Gonia’s products, events and public appearances,” Patagonia wrote in its lawsuit. “Patagonia supports advocacy and activism that promote the environment and inclusion in the outdoors, central to Pattie Gonia’s ostensible mission.
In its suit, Patagonia sought $1 in “nominal” damages, as well as a court order blocking Pattie Gonia from selling merchandise that infringed on its trademark, and from receiving a federal “Pattie Gonia” trademark.
Outside contacted Pattie Gonia, but she declined to comment further on her video and statement issued on May 27
In her letter, Pattie Gonia asked Patagonia to drop the lawsuit, stating that litigation hurts not only the drag queen but also the “people I employ, the millions of people I try to inspire, and dozens of nonprofit organizations that I have supported.”
“If this lawsuit is what saving the planet looks like to Patagonia’s current leadership, then one of us has profoundly misunderstood the assignment. And it is not me,” she said. “If Patagonia wants to celebrate Pride Month this year by taking a queer climate activist to federal court, then I’m here to fight for myself, and I am here to fight for us.”
Patagonia has filed trademark suits against other brands for using the name “Patagonia.” In 2023, Patagonia settled a lawsuit against Gap, Inc., alleging that the clothing retailer had illegally copied its iconic snap-flap pocket. Patagonia also sued Anheuser-Busch in 2019 for selling beer Patagonia said infringed on the brand’s name and aesthetic.
Pattie Gonia called on her followers to ask Patagonia to drop the lawsuit. She also stated that she has never used the Patagonia logo, font, or any other brand elements on her merchandise.
“This is not a joke. This is real,” Pattie Gonia said. “Patagonia is taking me to court because they claim I’m causing ‘irreparable’ harm to their brand by doing, and wait for it, ‘motivational speaking services in support of environmental sustainability’ and ‘organizing, arranging, and conducting trail and hiking events.”
