Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Planned Parenthood Rejects Tucker Max's Publicity Stunt Donation
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 3, 2012
Modified Apr 4, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 3, 2012
Modified Apr 4, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Do you need a late Tuesday afternoon LOL? Then read Ryan Holiday's post on Forbes about how Planned Parenthood turned down a $500,000 donation from the infamous Tucker Max. The donation was contingent on naming a clinic in Texas after Max, who recently Tweeted (and deleted), "In South Florida. This place is awful. Shitty design, slutty whores & no culture, like a giant Planned Parenthood waiting room." And for some reason Max and his media consultant Holiday are shocked about the turn of events. Maybe they were shocked in a Captain Renault way.
Holiday, who is also a consultant to American Apparel's Dov Charney, explains that Max wanted to donate some money to charity to reduce his tax burden, so Holiday suggested, "What if you gave a bunch of money to Planned Parenthood and they named a clinic after you? They need donors, it’d be awesome and you’d get a ton of positive press out of it for a change." At first, a Dallas Planned Parenthood chapter was allegedly interested and things escalated to the point where Max was about to meet the chapter's CEO, but then Planned Parenthood realized it might be stepping into a beer-in-hell-style trap and decided to end talks. Did they see this Tweet from last year?
Planned Parenthood would be cooler if it was a giant flight of stairs, w/someone pushing girls down, like a water park slide #FF @PPact
— Tucker Max (@TuckerMax) July 22, 2011
Per Holiday, "As a marketer, it was one of the stupidest and most depressing things I’ve ever seen. This would have been a win-win-win-win situation. Cut a check, keep a clinic open. Rehabilitate some of Tucker’s PR. Reduce a tax burden. Encourage other donors. And most importantly: Help women keep access to vital reproductive services. But nope. So I tell this story not simply to call out Planned Parenthood—though they deserve it and more. Tucker wasn’t trying to make a fool of them with the donation I set up, but they acted like one anyway."
Of course, Planned Parenthood would probably have lost something—Feministe's Jill Filipovic points out, "Trying to bolster the career of a misogynist narcissist at the expense of an organization that is already teetering on the brink, and then crying foul — and attempting a public shaming- when the organization protects itself so that it can continue to provide much-needed help to people who need more fundamental assistance than a new image and a tax break? That’s disgusting and transparently self-serving. And doesn’t do much to counter the perception that Tucker Max and his team are, in fact, a bunch of total fucking shitbags."
Planned Parenthood said in a statement, "We appreciate the generosity of our supporters, and take seriously our role as financial stewards of contributions, grants, and government funding. Like many nonprofits, Planned Parenthood reserves the right to decline offers of gifts and grants that may be discriminatory, are for purposes outside of our mission, or are too difficult to administer."
Holiday also writes, "Planned Parenthood did to Tucker exactly what the Susan G. Komen Foundation had done to Planned Parenthood. Let perception and moral superiority and BS politics get in the way of their real mission of helping people in need." Of course, Komen was founded to spread awareness and prevention of breast cancer, creating a multi-billion-dollar fundraising operation, with many donations coming from people who believe that Komen's mission is to help fund women's health initiatives, especially in places where those facilities aren't as available. While Max's life mission is to be an asshole.
Tagged
donation
planned parenthood
strings attached
tucker max
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:37 a.m. ET
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .