Target is pulling LGBTQ+ merchandise from stores it rolled out for Pride Month after confrontations with customers.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we have experienced threats affecting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being at work,” Target said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing elements that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behaviors.”
Items that have drawn negative attention include “tuck friendly” women’s swimwear that allows trans women who have not had gender-affirming surgeries to conceal male genitalia. Target did not specify which items it was removing.
Fox News reported on Tuesday that some Target stores, mostly in the rural South, were trying to avoid a “Bud Light situation” by moving some Pride merchandise after conservatives complained, referring to the backlash against parent company Anheuser-Busch. since it featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a promotional campaign.
Target has been celebrating Pride Month for a decade with a range of clothing, books and furniture. The merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride month takes place in June.
Several videos falsely claimed that Target was selling “tuck friendly” swimwear for children or in children’s sizes.
The backlash comes at a divisive time for trans rights.
Hundreds of bills targeting LGBTQ+ people — particularly transgender people — have been introduced by Republican lawmakers in state homes across the country, seeking to regulate the bathrooms they can use, the medical care they can receive and the sports teams they can play on.
“Our goal now is to move forward with our continued commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and stand with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year,” Target said. in the press release.