Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
This is what happens when you have no diversity!
Target apologizes for children’s clown Halloween costume after backlash
Target apologized on Monday and said it had pulled a Halloween costume from sale depicting a circus clown that critics said evoked Blackface and minstrel shows.
The product, sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” prompted a backlash on social media, with some consumers saying it resembled a racist caricature.
“As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” Target said in a statement. “The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale.”
It is the latest optics headache for the US retailer as it tries to right its ship after a stretch of poor sales. The company also faced criticism over its handling of products in its 2023 Pride Collection, and for changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the wake of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Target declined to comment on who designed the product - which was sold under the retailer’s seasonal Hyde and EEK Boutique brand - or the process by which it was green-lit for sale. In its statement, Target said it was “looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change.”