Shots fired.
On January 21, outdoor apparel manufacturer Patagonia filed a lawsuit against Pattie Gonia, the drag queen and activist, in a California court.
The lawsuit concerns Pattie Gonia’s alleged use of the company trademarks. In a statement posted to its website, Patagonia said that Pattie Gonia violated a previous agreement the two had struck over the use of the name and logo.
“While we wish we didn’t have to do this—and actively engaged with Pattie for several years to avoid this—it has become necessary to protect the brand we have spent the last 50 years building,” the statement said.
Pattie Gonia, a 2022 Outside Outsider of the Year, is the drag name of Wynn Wiley. Pattie Gonia advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and for protection of public land and the environment. Outside reached out to Pattie Gonia for comment but did not receive a response.
The statement said that Patagonia and Pattie Gonia—who uses female pronouns—spent several years hammering out an agreement over the activist’s use of the brand’s name. But the apparel giant alleges that Pattie Gonia’s recent attempts to sell and trademark her name violated that agreement.
In 2024, the statement said, Pattie Gonia began selling “Pattie Gonia” branded apparel that was marked with a version of the Patagonia logo. In 2025, Pattie Gonia then filed a trademark application seeking the right to use the “Pattie Gonia” name to sell apparel, promote environmental activism, and engage in online marketing endorsements.
“Pattie Gonia’s use of a near-copy of our name commercially—including as a brand for environmental advocacy—and her trademark application seeking to obtain the exclusive right to use that name going forward, pose long-term threats to Patagonia’s brand and our activism,” the statement said.
According to Patagonia, the company risks its ability to “defend our trademarks entirely” if it allows Pattie Gonia and others to copy its intellectual property.
“We cannot selectively choose to enforce our rights based on whether we agree with a particular point of view,” the statement said. “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.”
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