(ConservativeSense.com) – A shareholder is suing Target for losses incurred by its recent “woke” sales campaign. America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit against the board of directors on behalf of an unnamed shareholder. The suit claims that Target betrayed its customer base and shareholders with its controversial products during Pride Month, which takes place in June and is intended to celebrate members of the LGBT community.
Customers reacted with disgust, however, when products, including a “tuck-friendly” swimsuit, went on display. This means that the swim gear offers a facility for males to hide their genitalia in order to appear female. Other products that caused outrage included t-shirts aimed at children, emblazoned with slogans about “queer” issues, some of which were designed by a British Satanist who sells shirts declaring “Satan Respects Pronouns.”
The lawsuit addresses the enormous backlash that cut more than $9 billion from the company’s value and saw its share price fall by 12.6%. Customers boycotted the store while conservatives simultaneously punished Bud Light for using transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in an ad campaign. The beer giant’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, lost $19 billion in value in the fallout, and its share price fell by 14%.
Shareholders may be further concerned by the attitude of Target leaders in the wake of the customer backlash. Far from backing away or rethinking his “woke” campaign, CEO Brian Cornell appeared to dig his heels in. In an email to staff at the height of the controversy, he said a decision had been made to move some of the contentious merchandise, but this was due solely to harassment endured by his staff. He implied that homophobia was driving the customer backlash, even though Target has celebrated Pride for over a decade without incident—until products clearly aimed at children were introduced.
Cornell maintained that the initial decision was “the right thing for society, and it’s a great thing for our brand.”
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