The American supermarket chain Target announced this Wednesday (24) that it will remove products for the LGBTQIA+ community from its shelves after some employees received threats.
The Minneapolis (northern United States) group launched a line of products in June for Pride Month, which features events honoring the LGBTQIA+ community, most notably the famous “Gay Pride” parades.
Among them is a mug that says “Gender Fluid” that nonbinary people can identify with, or kids’ tshirts with the motto “Bien Proud,” a SpanishEnglish pun that translates to Portuguese, meaning “Well proud”.
“Target has offered a range of products to celebrate Pride Month for over a decade,” the company said in a statement. But “since the launch of this year’s collection, we have been made aware of threats that have impacted the safety and wellbeing of our employees,” he added. “Given the volatile context, we will be making changes, particularly the removal of articles related to more aggressive behavior.”
The fact, which came after a controversy sparked by a trans influencer’s advertisement for a beer brand, shows the climate of tension surrounding this issue in the United States.
“The goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic to brands,” conservative editor Matt Walsh said on Wednesday.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Target CEO Brian Cornell of “handing over the LGBT+ community to extremists.”