{"id":825041,"date":"2026-08-25T06:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/825041\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T06:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:48:11","slug":"target-apologizes-for-childrens-clown-halloween-costume-after-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/825041\/","title":{"rendered":"Target apologizes for children\u2019s clown Halloween costume after backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This story contains sensitive content that some may find disturbing.\n<\/p>\n

Reuters\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n Target apologized on Monday and said it had pulled a Halloween costume from sale depicting a circus clown that critics said evoked Blackface and minstrel shows.\n <\/p>\n

\n The product, sold as the \u201cKids\u2019 Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,\u201d prompted a backlash on social media, with some consumers saying it resembled a racist caricature.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,\u201d Target said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It is the latest optics headache for the US retailer as it tries to right its ship after a stretch of poor sales. The company also faced criticism<\/a> over its handling of products in its 2023 Pride Collection, and for changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the wake of President Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House.\n <\/p>\n

\n Target declined to comment on who designed the product – which was sold under the retailer\u2019s seasonal Hyde and EEK Boutique brand – or the process by which it was green-lit for sale. In its statement, Target said it was \u201clooking closely at how this happened and what needs to change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

\n Some Black shoppers, who felt alienated after Target\u2019s 2025 DEI rollbacks, expressed fresh disappointment on Monday. Sheletta Brundidge, a Minneapolis-area business leader, views the costume as an indirect result of the DEI decision. \u201cYou rolled back diversity,\u201d she said, \u201cso who\u2019s in the room, now, to say \u2018hey, this is wrong?\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Target acknowledged in its statement the costume was \u201cespecially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Though a Target-owned brand, Hyde and EEK products have been resold on websites of retailers like Walmart and Amazon, and the marketplace Etsy. Reuters did not see the item in question on those sites. A Walmart spokeswoman said she had no knowledge of that item being sold. Amazon and Etsy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\n Target, which has had back-to-back strong quarters, is beginning to see results from efforts to cut prices and freshen its merchandise, with new CEO Michael Fiddelke so far earning plaudits from Wall Street.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the company – which cannot compete with Walmart and Costco on price – has little room for error when it comes to managerial or optical missteps, said Brett Husslein, an analyst at Morningstar.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs Target begins to gain traction in repairing its brand reputation, this is exactly the kind of stuff they want to avoid,\u201d he said, adding that any headwind – optical, managerial, or macroeconomic – \u201ccould lead to further market share losses.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Target\u2019s shares were up 2.7% in afternoon trading.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This story contains sensitive content that some may find disturbing. Reuters\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Target apologized on Monday and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-825041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}