Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts has warned the popular website could have been forced to close after being "blacklisted" by major companies over its stance on women's rights.
Roberts said she feared the site might not survive after its members were branded "bigots" for supporting clarification of the definition of "woman" under equality legislation.
Her claims were made in a statement posted on Mumsnet following Wednesday's landmark Supreme Court ruling, which determined that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
In it, Roberts also warned that she felt under intense "pressure" from activists because of their stance on women's rights issues.
Roberts has warned the popular website could have been forced to close after being 'blacklisted' by major companies
PA
"It's been severely testing at times - there were moments I genuinely thought we might never see the tide turn, or at least not in our generation," Roberts wrote in her statement.
"Mumsnet risked being permanently labelled as bigoted, vicious, and 'on the wrong side of history'."
Roberts revealed that numerous organisations withdrew their advertising "under pressure from activists - both internal and external".
She believed many more companies simply avoided Mumsnet altogether without explanation.
Despite these challenges, Roberts maintained that "even in the darkest moments, when I feared the site might not survive, we never considered banning discussion of this issue altogether".
MORE WOMEN'S RIGHTS CRACKDOWNS:
The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday determined that transgender women are no longer legally women under the Equality Act
PA
She insisted that doing so "would have been completely contrary to what Mumsnet is about".
Roberts specifically cited Barclays in her statement, claiming: "The low point was discovering we'd been blacklisted on instruction from the top brass at Barclays - just weeks before their CEO resigned over concealing ties to Jeffrey Epstein."
She also detailed how Ocado abruptly ended a potential partnership after Mumsnet included a call to clarify the definition of sex in the Equality Act in their 2024 manifesto.
"Ocado - who had been excited about a partnership - abruptly pulled out, citing Mumsnet's 'hateful political views'," Roberts wrote.
She added that despite repeated attempts to explain their position as "a platform committed to amplifying women's voices", Ocado had "refused to speak to us ever since".
When asked about Roberts' statement, an Ocado spokesman apologised "unreservedly" to Mumsnet.
LATEST FOLLOWING THE LANDMARK SUPREME COURT RULING:
An Ocado spokesman apologised "unreservedly" to Mumsnet.
"These comments are not representative of us as a company, and we believe they were made by a temporary contractor who is no longer with the business," the spokesman said.
The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday determined that transgender women are no longer legally women under the Equality Act - and will not be allowed to participate in women's sport or be on single-sex hospital wards.
Changing rooms must also "be based on biological sex" according to the landmark judgement.
GB News has approached Barclays for comment.
