
A
backlash
Backlash may refer to:
Literature
* '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi
* ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston
* Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character
* ''Backl ...
against
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
occurred in the lead up to
Pride Month
LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...
in 2023 after the American retailer released its Pride month merchandise, sparking attacks and threats from
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
,
anti-LGBTQ
Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the ...
groups.
In May 2024, Target announced that not all stores would carry its 2024 pride collection.
Background
In May 2023, Target received threats against employees in response to the stores' Pride Month merchandise. Several viral posts on
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
claimed that "
tuck
Tuck may refer to:
People
* Tuck (surname), including a list of people
* Tuck (nickname), a list of people
* Tuck (footballer), Portuguese football player and coach João Carlos Novo de Araújo Gonçalves (born 1969)
* Hillary Tuck (born 1978), ...
-friendly" products were being sold to children; this claim was found to be false by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
.
Additionally, the musician
Forgiato Blow
Kurt Jantz, professionally known as Forgiato Blow, is an American rapper whose work supports former President Donald Trump and Trumpism. Jantz is a self-proclaimed pioneer of the Trumpist hip hop genre of MAGA rap.
Early life
Jantz was born ...
released a song titled "
Boycott Target".
As a result of the outrage among anti-LGBTQ groups, Target decided to withdraw several pieces of merchandise from stores in southern states and from their website.
The company also decided to move its pride displays in some stores from entrance areas to the back. Target released a statement on May 24, 2023, in which it cited concern for the safety of its employees as justification for these changes.
Response

Following Target's response, the company faced harsh criticism from
GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portraya ...
and several other
LGBTQ+
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
advocacy groups
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
, who requested that Target return all merchandise removed from its stores and website and to release a statement to reaffirm their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
Several politicians, including California Governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fro ...
, spoke out in support of the LGBTQ+ community and accused Target CEO
Brian Cornell
Brian C. Cornell (born 1958) is an American businessman. Cornell is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Target Corporation. He is also non-executive chairman of Yum! Brands.
Early life
Brian Cornell was born in 1958 in Queens, ...
of "selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists".
Kelley Robinson
Kelley Robinson (born ) is an American community organizer who is the current president of the Human Rights Campaign. She was formerly the executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Education
Robinson received a Bachelor of Arts degre ...
, President of the
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
, wrote that "the LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with Target for the past decade. Target needs to stand with us and double-down on their commitment to us".
Michael Edison Hayden, spokesperson for the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
, told
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
that "Target's reversal would only serve to encourage more violent threats."
Target did not release any further statements or support for the LGBTQ+ community following the backlash.
Within the week following the backlash, the stock price of Target had dropped by 15%.
Other retailers, including
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, released statements that they would not change their Pride Month offerings in response to the backlash against Target.
In an interview with ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon ...
'', senior director of programs and corporate advocacy of the Human Rights Campaign, Eric Bloem called out that "we're seeing a very coordinated planned attack on the LGBTQ+ community" and that the attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and companies that are supporting it are boosted by continued false claims being reported via media including
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
.
Despite false claims,
hosts and guests have continued to spread
misinformation
Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ou ...
about the Pride merchandise at Target in the week following the incident, according to ''Salon'' and
Media Matters
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
.
In late May 2023, several Target stores across the country were vandalized by far-right activists.
On June 10, 2023, several bomb threats were made against Target in multiple states by an individual who accused Target of having "betrayed the LGBT community", causing several evacuations. Police did not find any suspicious or harmful items, but are working with the FBI to try to identify the senders. The police have not identified who was behind the threats.
On June 16, 2023, a coalition of 15
state Attorneys General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...
led by Massachusetts Attorney General
Andrea Joy Campbell and Minnesota Attorney General
Keith Ellison
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...
and co-signed by AGs from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington State, expressed their resolute and unequivocal support for the LGBTQIA+ community. They supported Target in reporting all threats and vandalism committed against their Pride displays to law enforcement. They also requested that Target return the removed merchandise back to stores.
On July 5, 2023, a coalition of 7
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...
state Attorneys General led by Indiana Attorney General
Todd Rokita
Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...
, and joined by the attorneys general of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, and
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = G ...
, sent a letter to Target warning that marketing of materials featured in the Pride campaigns to children could run afoul of their states'
child protection
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to ...
and
obscenity
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be u ...
laws.
On August 18, 2023, Target's chief growth officer Christina Hennington commented on the decline in sales during a conference call with analysts, stating that "The reaction is a signal for us to pause, adapt and learn so that our future approach to these moments balances celebration, inclusivity and broad-based appeal." The statement was made after Target revealed that its
Q2 sales had declined by more than 5%. Target's
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain mana ...
sales fell more than 10% in the same quarter.
See also
*
2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States
The 2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States is an ongoing Backlash (sociology), political backlash from Social conservatism, social conservatives against LGBT community, LGBT people. It has included Legislature, legislative proposals of ...
*
Pink money
Pink money describes the purchasing power of the LGBT community, often especially with respect to political donations. With the rise of the gay rights movement, pink money has gone from being a fringe or marginalized market to a thriving industry ...
*
Cancel culture
Cancel culture, or rarely also known as call-out culture, is a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles—whether it be online, o ...
*
Diversity marketing
Diversity marketing (inclusive marketing, inclusion marketing, or in-culture marketing) is a marketing paradigm which sees marketing (and especially marketing communications) as a way to connect with the different individuals in the market. As soc ...
*
Go woke go broke
*
Rainbow capitalism
Rainbow capitalism (also called pink capitalism, homocapitalism[Global homocap ...](_blank)
*
Bud Light boycott
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Target Pride Month merchandise backlash, 2023
2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States
2023 controversies in the United States
2023 in American politics
2023 in LGBTQ history
Advertising and marketing controversies
Boycotts of organizations
Consumer boycotts
LGBTQ pride
May 2023 events in the United States
Moral panic
Target Corporation