Target rolled out its Pride Collection at the start of this month and the store is now pulling some products from its stores after some customer backlash.
Target was offering more than 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music and home furnishings as part of its Pride Collection. The items include “gender fluid” mugs, books for children aged 2-8 titled “Bye Bye, Binary,” “Pride 1,2,3” and “I’m not a girl.”
According to Reuters, Target said it was acting to protect employee safety. The Minneapolis-based retailer said in a statement,
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.”
Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda said the store 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.
Criticism from Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton escalated the backlash. He tweeted,
Even by the standards of woke corporations, Target’s partnership with a satanist to push the trans agenda on children is remarkable. The next time Target comes begging for help, Republicans should respond,
‘Best of luck.’”
The items being removed are the brand Abprallen by British designer Erik Carnell. However, none of Carnell’s products sold at Target contain Satanic imagery, but that hasn’t stopped the “hundreds upon hundreds” of threatening emails he says he’s received in recent days,
Erik told PinkNews,
It’s difficult because on one hand I’m obviously completely against it. I think that they should stand by their principles. If you’re going to have a Pride range centered around and created by LGBTQ people, then … you need to stick that out.
However, if I were working as a retail employee at a Target store, in an open carry state, I wouldn’t feel safe. So, I do understand their thought process on pulling some of the items.
Justified or not, the safety of their employees has to be paramount.”
Target is still being criticized widely for “caving” to right-wing attacks.
(Photo, YouTube; via Reuters, NBCNews)
