The Detransitioner vs. Home Depot

Summary

Morning Wire: "The Detransitioner vs. Home Depot"

Date: May 30, 2026
Hosts: Jon Bickley, Georgia Howe
Guests: Chloe Cole (Detransitioner & Advocate), Jeremy Tedesco (Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom)

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Episode Overview

This episode investigates how corporate America's policies on transgender health interventions, especially for minors, are shaped by activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Centered on a recent Home Depot shareholder meeting, it features detransitioner Chloe Cole and legal advocate Jeremy Tedesco discussing their efforts to challenge the inclusion of "gender-affirming care" for minors in corporate healthcare plans. The conversation addresses broad shifts in American corporate attitudes, the role of shareholder activism, and legal and cultural responses to the issue.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chloe Cole's Background & Advocacy

• Chloe Cole introduces herself as an advocate for protecting children from medical transition procedures, motivated by her own experience with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and a double mastectomy between ages 12 and 16.
  • Quote: "I've learned that this is not healthcare. This is medical abuse and it needs to be stopped in its tracks." (04:13)

2. Home Depot Shareholder Meeting & Corporate Policy

• Chloe's Shareholder Address: Chloe prepared a statement for Home Depot’s shareholder meeting, warning against the company's coverage of transgender medical interventions for minors. She argues this contradicts the values of their core customers and investors.
  • Quote: "For them to go in the face of that, to be a part of funding these treatments is a slap in the face of not just their investors, but also the customers who rely on them." (04:47)

3. The Influence of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

• Corporate Capture by HRC: Jeremy Tedesco explains that, over the last 25 years, left-leaning activist groups have significantly influenced corporate policy, with HRC’s Equality Index pressuring companies to adopt explicit pro-trans policies—even for minors.
  • Quote: "...the political left basically had 25 years of uncontested opportunity to capture American corporations and boy, did they ever." (05:32)
  • HRC's “Equality Index” requires health plans to cover puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transition surgeries for minors to score 100%. Companies often comply without fully understanding or agreeing with the implications.

4. Why Corporations Care About the “Equality Index”

• Perceived Political Necessity: Companies sought to appease activist communities by scoring high on the Equality Index, viewing it as beneficial for public relations and to avoid backlash.
  • Quote: "...it appeased a loud minority community who could cause a lot of pain to them if they didn’t do what they wanted." (06:47)
• Shifting Attitudes: Jeremy sees this era waning, as some corporations begin to pull away under sustained advocacy and shareholder pressure.

5. Examples of Corporate Movement Away from HRC

• Companies Moving Away: Major brands like Walmart, Lowe's, Ford, Harley Davidson, and John Deere have publicly distanced themselves from the HRC in recent years.
  • Quote: "That has never happened until the last couple of years. ...they're losing their hold and that's ultimately good for everybody." (08:12)
• Home Depot's Response: Still opaque; no public answer to shareholder concerns about HRC score compliance.

6. Legal and Cultural Pushback

• Shareholder Proxy Actions: Alliance Defending Freedom supports shareholder resolutions seeking transparency and accountability from companies still following HRC policy.
• Legal Action by Detransitioners:
  • Chloe is suing her healthcare providers at Kaiser Permanente for her childhood medical transition (09:55).
  • Increasing lawsuits from detransitioners, such as Chloe’s friend Soren Aldaco, another prominent detransitioner.
• Legislative Trends:
  • Six countries, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have moved away from supporting youth transitions (10:10).
  • 26 U.S. states now restrict transition procedures for minors.

7. Ongoing Advocacy and Shareholder Activism

• Recent Shareholder Actions: The same advocacy approach was used at American Express, where detransitioner Soren addressed their board.
• Broad Public Sentiment:
  • Quote: “This is an 80/20 issue, if not even more split than that...about 80% of our shareholders are vehemently opposed to providing these kinds of drugs and interventions to minors.” (11:41)
• Sustained Action Needed: The guests call for continued public, consumer, and shareholder action to pressure companies to disengage from activist-driven health policy.

8. Personal & Public Action

• Chloe’s Call to Hope and Action:
  • Quote: “When you hear stories like mine, they are not just to be taken as stories of tragedy. They are also stories of hope and triumph against very real institutional evil.” (12:43)
  • She encourages listeners to convert personal or second-hand suffering into advocacy for others.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is not healthcare. This is medical abuse and it needs to be stopped in its tracks.”
  — Chloe Cole (04:15)

• "The political left basically had 25 years of uncontested opportunity to capture American corporations and boy, did they ever."
  — Jeremy Tedesco (05:32)

• "For them to...fund these treatments is a slap in the face of...their investors, but also the customers who rely on them."
  — Chloe Cole (04:47)

• "It appeased a loud minority community who could cause a lot of pain to them if they didn’t do what they wanted."
  — Jeremy Tedesco (06:47)

• "That has never happened until the last couple of years. ...they're losing their hold and that's ultimately good for everybody."
  — Jeremy Tedesco (08:12)

• “This is an 80/20 issue...about 80% of our shareholders are vehemently opposed to providing these kinds of drugs...to minors.”
  — Jeremy Tedesco (11:41)

• “They are also stories of hope and triumph against very real institutional evil.”
  — Chloe Cole (12:44)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Chloe Cole’s Story & Experience: 03:44 – 04:18
• Home Depot Shareholder Statement: 04:31 – 05:04
• HRC’s Influence Explained: 05:32 – 06:33
• Corporate Responses to Equality Index: 06:33 – 07:38
• Companies Moving Away from HRC: 07:50 – 08:34
• Home Depot’s Current Stance/Lack of Response: 08:44 – 09:45
• Detransitioner Legal Actions: 09:55 – 10:40
• Other Companies Still Aligned with HRC: 11:01 – 12:26
• Chloe’s Final Advice and Hopeful Message: 12:43 – 13:21

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Conclusion

This episode highlights the intersection of culture, corporate policy, and advocacy surrounding transgender health interventions for minors. Featuring deeply personal testimony from Chloe Cole and legal insight from Jeremy Tedesco, it illustrates how a sustained, multi-pronged movement—legal, cultural, and grassroots—can influence corporate giants and potentially shift the future course of American business and medical practice.

Transcript

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[Jon Bickley]

As we learn more about the harms of medically transitioning children, the Human Rights Campaign, a powerful activist group, continues to push companies to embrace policies that help fund it. At a recent shareholders meeting for Home Depot, D transitioner Chloe Cole sounded the alarm over the corporation's pro trans policies.

[Chloe Cole]

I'm here because I know what happens when big institutions like Home Depot value outside corporate pressure and ratings over the safety and well being of children and their families.

[Jon Bickley]

Chloe joins us along with ADF's Jeremy Tedesco to discuss corporate America's relationship with the Human Rights Campaign and its impact on children. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor Jon Bickley. This is a Legal Wire edition of Morning Wire.

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[Jon Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss how corporate policies are impacting children are Jeremy Tedesco of Alliance Defending Freedom and Chloe Cole, who's been speaking out against the harms of medical transitioning kids. Chloe and Jeremy, welcome.

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Thank you.

[Chloe Cole]

Thanks for having me.

[Jon Bickley]

So, Chloe, first, could you tell us a little bit about your background for those who may not be familiar with your story?

[Chloe Cole]

So I am an advocate for the protection of children in the medical realm, especially from underage transgender procedures. And a lot of my own passion on this issue comes from my experience of going through this, the so called treatments, the so called healthcare to attempt to become a boy between the ages of 12 to 16. Coming out of it with regret, with damage done to my body after going through puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and a double mastectomy at 15 years old, I've learned that this is not healthcare. This is medical abuse and it needs to be stopped in its tracks.

[Jon Bickley]

And so you've been speaking out about this and then specifically you addressed the Home Depot's shareholder meeting last week for this cause. Why did you feel compelled to do that and what was your message?

[Chloe Cole]

Yeah, so I gave them a prerecorded statement, not just talking about my own experience with the firsthand consequences of these treatments, but I Also raised the alarm in the fact that their employee plan actively covers these treatments for dependents, including minor children, which Home Depot is a company that a lot of families rely on to build their homes. So for them to go in the face of that, to be a part of funding these treatments is a slap in the face of not just their investors, but also the customers who rely on them.

[Jon Bickley]

Yeah, I was personally surprised to hear that Home Depot was among the companies still supporting these kinds of policies despite having founders that really often promoted conservative causes in the past. This might be a good question for you, Jeremy. You helped file a resolution on behalf of Home Depot's shareholders. How did we get here with the hrc, the Human Rights Campaign, which is so far left having such a, you know, a foothold in companies in corporate America?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

The political left basically had 25 years of uncontested opportunity to capture American corporations and boy, did they ever. I mean, even Home Depot, you know, of all conservative leaning consumer brands, gets 100% on the HRC Equality Index. They, they touted that in the past on their social media platforms and handles. And the problem with that is the HRC doesn't care a l about these companies. In fact, the political left largely doesn't like capitalism to begin with. They just want to use those brands to push their political agenda and their social agenda on Americans. And So HRC gets 100%. To get 100% on the equality Index this year, your employee health programs have to cover cross sex hormones, puberty blockers, and even transition surgeries for minors. And like so many other companies, they kind of blindly hand over their HR policymaking to these activist organizations and it needs to stop.

[Jon Bickley]

So the Equality Index, will you unpack that more for us? Why do companies even care about this? What benefits does it give them to actually score high on this thing?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Well, I think that's coming to. I think we're at the beginning of the end of the capture of corporations through the HRC's Equality Index and even the Southern Poverty Law Center. And the way they've captured corporations, I think in the past, the companies believed that it was politically beneficial for them to get 100%, that it appeased a loud minority community who could cause a lot of pain to them if they didn't do what they wanted. That has really changed. I think the calculus has changed for corporate America. But we're only, as I said, at the beginning of the end of this. And it's going to take concerted work effort and sustained activity from people, Christians, conservatives, others who have a stake in Home Depot and other companies to hold them accountable and just say, look, get out of politics. You don't need to appease the far left. You should stay down the middle and serve all Americans.

[Jon Bickley]

Right now you noted there's a movement away from taking this seriously and trying to meet the standards of the hrc. What are some of the companies that have publicly moved away from this?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

So Walmart, Lowe's, one of Home Depot's competitors, Ford, Harley Davidson, John Deere, a few others have started to really pull away from the hrc. And so, you know, those kinds of public disaffections from the HRC scoring rubric I think are really, really important. That has never happened until the last couple of years. And it just goes to show you that they're losing their hold and that's ultimately good for everybody. It's good for a free society. It's good for people like Chloe who are advocating against these kinds of drugs and surgeries being provided to minors in a way that's going to completely destroy their lives.

[Jon Bickley]

Is there any sense that Home Depot may be poised to reverse course on this? Have they responded so far to the pressure that Chloe's helping put on them to make some changes here?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

We represented shareholders in the proxy process. That's how this all came about. We helped them file a resolution asking Home Depot about why they get 100% on the index and whether they provide these kinds of things in their insurance program. And Home Depot, they just wouldn't respond, no transparency, and said we're not going to deal with you. Your resolution is going to appear on our proxy statement for votes by our shareholders. Well, that triggers the opportunity for a statement from the shareholder or their delegate, which happened to be Chloe in this circumstance, to talk about the issue and bring attention to it. So that's where we're at in the process. I think ultimately we're on some kind of an arc here where a lot of companies are going to off board from hrc. But like I said, it's going to take sustained pressure and engagement from people like Chloe, from the kind of shareholders that we represent to ultimately push these companies off of the left wing gravy train.

[Jon Bickley]

Yeah. Chloe, for you personally, what kind of response have you seen to appeals that you've made like this to stakeholders? Are appeals like this having an effect?

[Chloe Cole]

Well, not only are there a lot of companies cutting ties with the hrc, there's also a lot of cultural movement in regards to this issue, especially when it comes to the protection of children. I have Personally filed a lawsuit against my doctors with Kaiser Permanente. And I know a few dozen other detrans who are as well, including my friend Soren Aldaco, who is suing her doctors as well. And her mother's employee plan actually covered these treatments for her as a child. And we've seen six countries so far very publicly move away from these treatments for children, including our own HHS. And we have 26 states that have moved to protect children from these procedures. I think it's very clear now just how unpopular this issue is.

[Jon Bickley]

Yeah, over half the states now, it's a lot of movement. And we've seen with Trump 2.0, a really aggressive administration combating child transitioning procedures. Now, Home Depot's not alone in embracing these policies. Are there some other companies that are significant, Jeremy, that are still trying to abide by the HRC's guidelines?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Well, yeah, there's unfortunately a lot of them, but there's a sustained effort by conservative and Christian shareholders to point that out to the companies through the proxy process, like we did here with Home Depot. Just about a week ago, we had another moment like this at American Express and their annual shareholder meeting where Soren, who Chloe mentioned, delivered her story to American Express's management and board of directors and all their shareholders at their shareholder meeting. And so, you know, we're going to continue to drip this message and hold these companies accountable. This is an 8020 issue, if not even more split than that. And so there's really no benefit to the companies in realizing that, look, the 8020 split in the American public's views is essentially the same split amongst their shareholders. You can basically say that about 80% of our shareholders are vehemently opposed to providing these kinds of drugs and interventions to minors. And so the companies are exposed in a way that is really problematic. And just doing the right thing for their shareholders would mean pulling away from the HRC and stopping trying to appease these activists by putting things into their health plans that aren't good for their employees, their employees, kids, or the value of the company.

[Jon Bickley]

So you two are both obviously involved in the legal side of this and also from the advocacy side. Chloe, on your end, maybe a final question for you, Chloe, for the average person, what can they do if they're interested in trying to see these sort of medical interventions go by the wayside?

[Chloe Cole]

Well, I think that when you hear stories like mine, they are not just to be taken as stories of tragedy. They are also stories of hope and triumph against very real institutional evil. Because I have to suffer lifelong consequences for what I went through as a child. I wasn't helped by the adults around me when I needed it most. But I've been able to rise above that and use this pain that I go through every day to ensure that no other child will ever go through what I have ever again. And I have been able, in spite of everything, to embrace everything that God has given me.

[Jon Bickley]

Well, thank you so much. Thank you very much, Chloe and Jeremy, for talking with us. Really important issue that's still being fought over in so many arenas, including corporate America.

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Thank you.

[Jon Bickley]

That was chloe Cole and ADF's Jeremy Tedesco. And this has been a legal wire edition of Morning Wire.