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On 11 Sep 2021, Steve Cummings <jtfa@gmail.com> posted some news:shiani$k4$11@news.dns-netz.com:

Queers do not belong around children. Ever.

NEW YORK — When a Target distributor reached out to Erik Carnell last year about possibly placing his brand, Abprallen, in Target stores, he was
thrilled.

It was "the biggest opportunity of my career," Carnell told CNN. "I was ecstatic at the thought of being able to share my stuff with an entirely
new market." The London-based Abprallen, described on its Instagram page
as "art and accessories for the proud, loud, and colourful," would go from
a small startup to a brand available at a major U.S. retailer.

In the following months, he said Carnell pitched Target and came up with designs that would be appropriate for the big box store. Ultimately,
Target started selling three Abprallen items for adults: A sweatshirt, a
tote bag and a messenger bag, each emblazoned with a different phrase.

But then things fell apart. About a week and a half ago, Carnell said, he started receiving hundreds of hateful messages including death threats,
some of them incorrectly saying the collection was being marketed to
children, as some people lashed out at Target over its Pride offerings.

By Wednesday, Target had pulled Abprallen items from its U.S. stores and
online market, Reuters reported.

"Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats
impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work," Target said in a statement about this year's Pride collection.

"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our
plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior," Target said.

Carnell's immediate reaction was relief.

"??The amount of backlash that I have gotten has been overwhelming," he
said. "I just hope that this is the beginning of the end of the messages
and the onslaught that I'm getting."

But for a small brand, losing access to Target's massive reach is a blow.

"When this has all died down, I'm going to be incredibly disappointed that
such a huge opportunity was taken away from me."

But Carnell understands Target's decision regarding his line.

"I don't know what, other than pulling it, could be done to help protect
the retail employees," he said. "Their safety absolutely has to be the top priority."

Still, Carnell is disappointed that Target wasn't more communicative with
him about the decision. Though he's heard from a distributor he was
working with, he hasn't received any word from the corporate office, he
said.

Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this
story.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50654395/lgbtq-brand-creator-relieved-after- target-pulls-his-items-off-shelves-due-to-backlash

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