Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | August 26, 2026
It turns out that ending all of your DEI targets leads to some bad decisions. Target's been mired in backlash for a few years now, ever since it decided to capitulate to right-wing hysteria over diversity schemes. A boycott of the company over this led to decreased footfall in stories and sales overall. Now, they're back in the spotlight after people drew attention to an astonishingly offensive Halloween costume. The "Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume" was styled with a young Black boy and it was hard to ignore the parallels with minstrel shows.
It's pretty ghoulish, right? The pose, the fake smile, the, well, everything. You know what could have prevented this? An inclusive workplace full of people who know the world beyond a boardroom. Given how much rage-bait has become a part of every day life, with companies seemingly eager to offend or aggravate in the name of attention, many wondered if Target was doing this on purpose. Was this their way of firing back at the predominantly Black groups that organised successful boycotts? They say it was just an accident, and they apologised as such.
"As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry," Target said in a recent statement. "The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won't happen again."
One person telling Target to shove their apology is Viola Davis. The EGOT Queen took to Threads to let the company know her feelings on the matter.
View on Threads
She wrote:
Target, I do not accept your apology, and I do not believe that you understand the impact... the pain... the dehumanization of the above.
These images laid the foundation and the ideology for every atrocity that has been committed against my people.
We MATTER!!
You have shown us that you are not on OUR side.
An image like that takes weeks, maybe even months, of planning. It had to go through dozens of people, from the design stages of the costume to the final ad print being approved by highers-up. Either all of those Target bosses and employees truly had no idea what they were doing or they just didn't care. Neither option is acceptable, especially in the current climate of rage-bait and open racism from the most powerful figures in the country. And you could have avoided it if you hadn't been such cowards over inclusivity initiatives.
