Some Target stores, primarily in the south, were forced to move their LGBT Pride Month merchandise to the back after customers complained about some of the inappropriate items, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
The big box retailer features Pride Month displays every year. But some of the items in this year’s display, including “tuck friendly” bathing suits for transgenders and “gender fluid” coffee cups, resulted in blowback from customers.
According to a Target insider who spoke to Fox News, many stores, especially in rural areas in the South, were told to relocate their Pride Month displays to avoid the same kind of backlash Bud Light received after partnering with transgender “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney.
The insider told Fox that there was an “emergency” call last Friday with store managers and district senior directors who were instructed by the company to dial back the Prime Month displays immediately.
According to the insider, the company gave them 36 hours to move their Pride Month displays to smaller areas in the back and not to include mannequins or “large signage.”
The insider, who has worked with Target for nearly 20 years, told Fox that this year’s Pride Month display was met with more outrage from customers than any previous year, likely due to the “current situation with Bud Light.”
Friday’s call included representatives from Target’s Asset Protection and Corporate Security teams.
During the call, which lasted only 15 minutes, the company officials spent ten minutes discussing “how to deal with team member safety” due to the backlash, according to the insider. In the final five minutes, the company instructed store managers to move everything to the back.
A spokesperson for the retailer told Fox News that the changes were due to “volatile circumstances.”
The spokesperson said that since introducing this year’s Pride Month collection, threats were made against store employees that threatened their “sense of safety and well-being” at work.
This year’s Pride Month merchandise featured women’s bathing suits that include extra space so men can “tuck” their genitalia. Bathing suits for children featured a label that noted that they are designed “thoughtfully” for “multiple body types and gender expressions.”
