Pride month is just around the corner, but instead of promoting its rainbow totes and T-shirts, Target is removing some LGBTQ items from its shelves.
The change affects the chain’s 1,900-plus retail stores and online presence. Target announced the removal of the Pride items after backlash from some customers, which the company said was becoming a growing safety concern for workers.
Target has sold Pride merchandise for the past decade, and the line has grown each year. This year, items could be seen on sale since early May ahead of June Pride month. However, the company said the threat to employee safety couldn’t be ignored. There had been an uptick in violent incidents, as well as reports of customers removing Pride merchandise from shelves and throwing it onto the floor.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday.” 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 statement continued, “Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”
Target didn’t say exactly which items it would be removing, although Reuters reports that items from the London-based company Abprallen were no longer searchable on the retailer’s website.
Some Southern stores moved their Pride sections from the front to the back due to the hostile reaction from some shoppers. Likely fueling the backlash, in part, is misinformation circulating on social media about some of the items Target was selling. For example, multiple videos have emerged in which users falsely assert that swimsuits labeled as “tuck-friendly” were designed for kids, prompting calls for an all-out boycott of Target.
This latest controversy comes during what has already been a challenging year for companies that show support for the LGBTQ community. Most notably, Anheuser-Busch-owned Bud Light saw sustained backlash after a social media ad campaign featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April.
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