Target removes some of its Pride merchandise after violent threats to staff
began to criticize the rainbow-adorned merchandise. Rep. Lauren Boeber is among those calling for a boycott of the store. She vowed , “Target won’t be getting another dollar from me.”Yesterday, Target announced it had removed some of the items due to safety concerns.“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.”Target did not say which items it had removed.
However, prompting much of the backlash are designs by UK-based company Abprallen. It’s led by designer Erik Carnell, a trans man.
He describes his brand aesthetic as “pastel goth LGBT Pride”.On Instagram, Carnell says one of his best-selling products is a pin with the slogan, “Satan respects pronouns”.
Some designs feature pentangles and images of Satan. Some rightwingers seized upon this, despite Target not selling the Satan pin.Carnell spoke to the Daily Dot earlier this week.
