Target Says It’s Pulling Back Some Pride Merchandise

Target said Wednesday that it’s removing some of its Pride Month collection items after this year’s promotion led to threats to the safety of its workers.

“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 spokeswoman Kayla Castaneda said in a statement, reports The Washington Post.

The company sells hundreds of Pride products through its website and in stores, including clothing and children’s books, and said it’s offered products for Pride Month, celebrated in June, for more than 10 years.

Target isn’t saying which items it is removing, but said there has been misinformation after conservative groups and media outlets centered on children’s bathing suits they called “tuck-friendly.”

The suits, which offer extra coverage that allows transgender women to conceal their genitalia if they have not had gender-affirming operations, are only for adults, according to an Associated Press report.

Conservatives are also calling for a boycott of Target over partnering with a U.K.-based company, Abprallen, saying the company’s designs feature Satanic designs.

One of the items being sold had an image of a snake with a caption saying “Cure transphobia, not trans people,” while another was a messenger bag reading “We belong everywhere.”

Reuters reports that the Abprallen products are being removed from all of Target’s stores in the United States and on its website, and other items are under review.

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, accused Target’s CEO Brian Cornell on Twitter of “selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists” after Target decided to pull items. He also warned that there “is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country” and said that will not stop with [removing] pride-themed merchandise.

Meanwhile, Target’s stock has been dropping since March, when Cornell said that DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and calls to boycott the retailer have been going on for over a week over its pride messaging and the marketing of LGBTQ-themed clothing for children and babies.

On March 17, after Cornell’s statements, Target closed at $160.96 and has continued to drop, closing at $147.16 Tuesday and falling to $143.85 as of Wednesday morning.

Target’s drop is similar to that being seen by Anheuser-Busch following the controversy after the brewer sent transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a personalized package of beer with her likeness on the can, leading to backlash from the company’s customers.

The beermaker’s stock also continued to drop Wednesday, opening at $57.53 a share, according to Market Watch.