Drag Queen Pattie Gonia Asks Patagonia to Drop Trademark Lawsuit

Pattie Gonia has been a fixture of environmental activism and queer outdoor spaces for years. Her name — a pun on the outdoor apparel giant — has always been part of the joke. Now Patagonia is suing her over it, and she is asking them to stop.

Wyn Wiley, the drag queen and environmental activist who performs as Pattie Gonia, went public Wednesday with a plea for Patagonia to drop its trademark infringement lawsuit, calling the suit "a corporation trying to erase an activist." The case has generated significant public debate, not least because Patagonia — a company whose mission statement explicitly centers environmental activism — is now in a legal fight with one of the outdoor world's most prominent queer environmental advocates.

"This is not a brand conflict," Pattie Gonia said in a statement. "This is a corporation trying to erase an activist. This is how corporations bully individuals who cannot match their resources."

How the Lawsuit Started

Patagonia filed a federal lawsuit against Wiley on January 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The company alleged that Wiley had breached a 2022 agreement by moving from "discrete use of a persona to engage in activism" toward a broader commercial enterprise — specifically by filing a trademark application in September 2025 seeking exclusive rights to the name "Pattie Gonia" for apparel, marketing services, and events.

The company is seeking just $1 in damages — but also legal fees, which Wiley says could exceed $1 million. The practical threat is not the dollar figure but the possibility of losing the name entirely.

Patagonia alleged that Wiley's 2024 merchandise sales — including t-shirts featuring versions of the company's logo along with the words "Pattie Gonia Hiking Club" — violated the 2022 agreement, under which Pattie Gonia agreed not to use her name on products or use Patagonia's logo or font.

Patagonia's Defense

Patagonia has been careful to frame the lawsuit as a structural necessity rather than a personal attack on Wiley or her activism.

"The last thing we wanted was a legal fight with someone who shares our values, but we must protect our business and employees," the company said in a statement. "We cannot selectively choose to enforce our rights based on whether we agree with a particular point of view. Inconsistent enforcement might prevent us from stopping entities like the oil and gas lobby, counterfeiters, hate groups, or other bad actors from using the Patagonia name and logo. These are not hypothetical examples; they are real instances of past trademark infringements we successfully stopped only because we have been consistent in defending our rights."

The company added: "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."

Pattie Gonia's Response

Wiley pushed back on Patagonia's characterization of the 2022 agreement. "In 2022, when I was collaborating with a third party, Patagonia asked me to follow certain terms, and I did. That wasn't a broad agreement about my future," she said.

She also disputed the claim that her name poses a genuine consumer confusion risk, noting that she and her business partner have stated they have "never and will never reference the brand Patagonia's logo or brand."

Pattie Gonia has over two million followers across TikTok and Instagram and has raised nearly $4 million for climate nonprofits over the course of her career. She recently completed a backpacking trip to San Francisco to raise awareness about climate change. Her activism and Patagonia's brand have existed in largely the same space for years — which is part of what makes the lawsuit so jarring to her supporters.

The Wider Reaction

The case has drawn considerable attention precisely because of the values mismatch it highlights. Patagonia has spent decades building a brand identity rooted in environmental activism and anti-corporate values — famously running a Black Friday ad that said "Don't Buy This Jacket" and donating significant portions of its revenue to environmental causes. For that company to be suing a queer environmental activist over a pun-based drag name has struck many observers as deeply ironic.

The lawsuit remains active. No court date has been set.

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