A Florida Target reportedly refused to sell a LGBTQ+ Pride-themed onesie to a gay couple because the employees said the product should have been pulled from the shelves.
According to the New York Post, the couple, Michael Hoffacker and Michael Roedel, visited a Target store in Lake Park, Florida, to buy baby formula, diapers and clothing for their infant son when they decided to buy a onesie for their child stating “Bien Proud.” When the couple went to the self check-out and scanned the item, it alerted them that an employee was coming over.
“A Target team member walked over and she let us know that that item should have been pulled from the shelves and it had a ‘Do Not Sell’ on it and they would not be able to sell us the item,” Hoffacker told local outlet WPBF. The worker reportedly told the couple to call an 800-number to sort it out.
“We said that that was unreasonable. (The manager) told us if she were to sell us the item, she would probably lose her job,” Hoffacker added. He claimed that the experience made him feel like he “didn’t have rights.”
“I’ve never actually felt restricted from my rights as a gay man through being in college to when I came out until now, I mean this was one of the moments when I felt like I didn’t have the rights that I deserved to have. It was very uncomfortable,” he said.
Target refuses to sell Pride-themed onesie to gay couple https://t.co/8TpOMrSYSk pic.twitter.com/w8qxnYXO4T
— New York Post (@nypost) June 7, 2023
Roedel said that Target needs to “be better” and needs “to be a better ally in this community.” He added that his family was “trying to celebrate who we are in a very, very historic and proud, prideful June.”
The Post noted that the company decided to pull some Pride Month items ahead of June. In a statement, Target said it was because “we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing at work.”
Ahead of Pride Month, Target faced intense backlash after unveiling its Pride collection, which included “tuck friendly” bathing suits for men to appear more feminine. As a result, Target held an “emergency meeting” over the collection. Some stores moved their Pride sections as a result. Matt covered how Target lost billions of dollars due to boycotts over the products.