Target moving away from LGBTQ pride due to customer backlash

Robert Besser
28 May 2023, 21:05 GMT+10

Target is pulling some products from its Pride Collection from its stores, claiming it is taking this step to protect the safety of its employees
More than 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music and home furnishings, are sold by the Minneapolis-based retailer under its Pride Collection
Target's decision follows a similar customer backlash against brewer Anheuser-Busch's, which promoted its Bud Light beer on social media with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney last month

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota: Reuters reported that after facing a backlash from customers, Target is pulling some products from its Pride Collection from its stores, claiming it is taking this step to protect the safety of its employees.

More than 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music and home furnishings, are sold by the Minneapolis-based retailer under its Pride Collection.

In a statement, Target said, "Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and wellbeing while at work."

"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," it added.

"Target has been celebrating Pride Month for more than a decade. But this year's collection has led to an increase in confrontations between customers and employees and incidents of Pride merchandise being thrown on the floor," said Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda.

Target's decision follows a similar customer backlash against brewer Anheuser-Busch's, which promoted its Bud Light beer on social media with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney last month.

Castaneda confirmed that Target is withdrawing some Pride products from all its US stores and its website.

While various Pride Collection products are under review, the only items being currently removed are the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which has come under scrutiny for its association with British designer Erik Carnell, who has faced social media backlash for designing merchandise with images of pentagrams, horned skulls and other Satanic images.

Certain transgender swimsuits and children's merchandise are also being reviewed by Target, but no decision on those products has been made, Castaneda said.

Meanwhile, Fox News has reported that some Target stores in southern US states were removing Pride-related merchandise from their store fronts.

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