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Leave it to Lil Nas X to find the most fun way to rock the conservatism of Target’s Pride Month products. Days after the mega-retailer removed or moved some Pride merchandise following a backlash from activists and conservative media outlets — which reportedly included some threats against the safety of its workers — the “This Is What I Want” rapper tweeted an hysterical tweet of his own. A parody of Storm in the Lane 20.
“I can’t believe Target supports this crap, I’m never shopping there again, my son isn’t ‘too cool for school’, these T-shirts are ridiculous,” Lil Nas joked in a post that didn’t specifically mention the backlash. to it using his signature comedic bow voice. “He is going to school and he will learn.”
Amid a wave of conservative legislation targeting the LGBTQ community — from bills restricting attendance at drag shows to laws outlawing gender-affirmation therapy for transgender minors and adults — Target has become the latest act to come under scrutiny after outrage from right-wing media over some of its Pride products. According to NBC News, some Target customers have posted TikTok videos showing Target Pride merchandise deals that have been moved to less visible locations, including in the back of some stores.
On Tuesday (May 23), a Target spokesperson told NBC News that the company has “offered a variety of products meant to celebrate Pride Month” for more than a decade. But since introducing this year’s collection, “we’ve encountered threats affecting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being on the job.”
The spokesperson added: “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of most confrontational behaviour. Our focus is now on moving forward our ongoing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year “.
After Target rolled out some of this year’s products for June’s Pride month — which include rainbow tops, tees that read “Trans People Will Always Exist” and more — it reportedly started getting pushy for items from its LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which offers items featuring ” Scary gothic images, such as skulls and the devil, in pastel colors.” The Associated Press reported that among the items that have angered conservatives is the “tuck-friendly” women’s swimwear that allows adult trans women to hide their genitals.
One tweet featured a man Throw a pride show on the ground and trampled on it. Human Rights Campaign chair Kelly Robinson has responded to the latest culture war storm with a tweet He offers a dire warning: “Extremist groups want to divide us and in the end they don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear.”
In April, transgender actor Dylan Mulvaney responded to a Fox News story about Bud Lite sending one-off, not-for-sale souvenir cans to Mulvaney, prompting musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt, and John Rich to swear off the famous drink.
“I think it’s okay to be frustrated with someone or confused, but what I find hard to understand is the need to dehumanize and be tough. I just, I don’t think that’s right,” Mulvaney, 26, said in a video to her 18-year-old followers. 13 million followers: “Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history.”After describing her childhood in a conservative family and at church, Mulvaney said she still had faith, but it was hard to hold on in the midst of attacks that reminded her of similar criticism she faced As a child, she’s very feminine. “
“Now I’m being called all of these same things, but this time by other adults,” she said. “And if they’re going to accuse me of anything, it’s that I’m a theatrical person and I’m in the camp. But that’s just my personality and it always has been.”
Watch Lil Nas’ tweet mocking the outrage towards Target’s Pride Month products below.