'Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet,' Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement. Target has relocated Pride Month displays to the back of stores in certain Southern locations, in response to online complaints and in-store confrontations that it says threatened employees.īut now, Target faces a second backlash from pro-LGBT customers who are upset by the retailer's reaction to conservative protests, and say the company should have stood up to critics.Ĭivil rights groups accused Target of caving to bigoted anti-LGBT customers who tipped over displays and expressed outrage over gender-fluid bathing suits. While various Pride Collection products are under review, the only ones now being removed are the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which has come under scrutiny for its association with British designer Erik Carnell.Ĭarnell has faced social media backlash for designing merchandise with images of pentagrams, horned skulls and other Satanic-themed products. The products Target is withdrawing are being removed from all its US stores and from its website, a spokesperson said. 'Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,' the Minneapolis-based retailer said. 'Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,' Target said in a statement on Wednesday in response to the backlash. Other items in the collection include 'gender fluid' mugs, 'queer all year' calendars and books for children aged 2-8 titled 'Bye Bye, Binary,' 'Pride 1,2,3' and 'I'm not a girl.' But one item that drew particular conservative ire was 'tuck friendly' women's swimwear designed to accommodate biologically male genitalia.
This year it includes more than 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music and home furnishings. Target says it has offered an LGBT-themed collection for Pride Month, which falls in June, for more than a decade. Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment from on Thursday morning. 'I have no doubt that many companies do find wokeness to be a good short-term trick.' 'That's not a boycott, that's just a response to a company that chooses to spit in their face,' he continued. 'If a company makes a conscious business decision to alienate a significant portion of its customer base, then it's totally fair game for its customers to respond accordingly,' Ramaswamy said. This week, Target removed certain Pride Collection products from its stores after facing customer backlash, saying it was acting to protect employee safety. 'Just ask Budweiser how that worked out for them,' he added, referring to a similar controversy over Bud Light's marketing partnership with a transgender influencer in April. Meanwhile, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has lashed out at Target over the retailer's LGBT collection, saying the products 'spit in the face' of conservative customers
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