Target is pulling some LGBTQ merchandise from stores that it rolled out for Pride Month after confrontations with customers.
“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 to USA TODAY. ”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.”
Items that have drawn negative attention include “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal male genitals. Target did not say which items it was removing.
Fox News reported Tuesday that some Target stores, most of them in the rural South, were trying to avoid a “Bud Light situation” by relocating some Pride merchandise after conservatives complained, referring to the backlash against parent company Anheuser-Busch since it featured a transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a promotional campaign.
Target has been celebrating Pride Month for a decade with an array of clothing, books and furnishings. The merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride Month is held in June.
Several videos have falsely claimed that Target is selling “tuck friendly” swimsuits for kids or in kids’ sizes.
The backlash comes at a divisive moment for transgender rights.
Hundreds of bills targeting LGBTQ people – particularly transgender people – have been introduced by Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the country. The legislation seeks to regulate what bathrooms they can use, what medical care they can receive and what sports teams they can play on.
“Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year,” Target said in the statement.
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