Shareholders sue Target over disastrous DEI boycott
Target shareholders filed a lawsuit against the retail giant on Friday over its aggressive DEI campaign that triggered a devastating boycott.
In 2023, Target came under fire for marketing transgender and Satanist merchandise to children. The summer collection included Pride onesies for infants, clothing with transgender slogans, female swimwear for males to help them tuck their genitalia, chest binders for girls, items promoting Satan, and children’s books such as “Bye Bye Binary” and “What Are Your Words?,” a book about gender pronouns.
Consumers responded with a mass boycott, causing Target to remove the offensive products from their shelves—but it was too late. According to the lawsuit filed by the Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund (RBPPF), the boycott contributed to a 21% dive in Target’s stock in November and wiped out $15.7 billion of market value, reported Reuters. The RBPPF, which had bought Target stock at an inflated price, suffered a financial loss from the boycott and was unaware Target was engaging in a “misuse of investor funds to serve political and social goals.”
A pro-DEI boycott
In January, Target announced it would scale back its DEI initiatives and programs, including one promoting products from Black-owned businesses. The announcement triggered calls for a boycott by the Left. Pastor Jamal Bryant of the New Birth Baptist Church in Atlanta is asking shoppers to “fast” from Target by boycotting its stores throughout the 40 days of Lent that begin March 5th.
"I want the stock to go down because we are standing in righteous indignation against racism and sexism in this nation," Bryant said. "We are going to break the spirit of white entitlement. We are going to break the spirit of racism and sexism."
Against US policy
DEI is now against US policy per an executive order President Donald Trump signed immediately after his inauguration last month.
“[R]oughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation,” the EO read.
