Target apologizes for 'offensive' children's Halloween costume after backlash
Target has been forced to apologize after one of its Halloween costumes was described as a 'historical gut-punch' with disturbing parallels to historic racist caricatures.
The company spoke out on Monday (August 24) after the product was likened to historical minstrel shows.
Beginning in the early 19th century, minstrel shows involved white actors wearing blackface and ragged clothing, performing offensive caricatures of enslaved Africans on Southern plantations.
Some social media users claim Target’s Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume bears an uncomfortable resemblance to these characters.
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The costume in question saw a Black child as the model, wearing an exaggerated mouthpiece and oversized orange-patterned clothes with a tiny black hat.
One social media user wrote: “I GASPED. HOW did that get past EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the process???”
Another said: “How bad could the costume b- oh.”
Someone else wrote: “That grin hit like a historical gut-punch, how did Target even greenlight this for kids?!”
In a statement, the company took to X to apologize for any offense, writing: "An apology from us: We pulled an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer for sale. As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry.”
It added: “We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. 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.”
Minneapolis business leader Sheletta Brundidge alleged the costume wasn't flagged as offensive because Target ended many of its DEI initiatives back in 2025.
She told Reuters: "You rolled back diversity, so who's in the room, now, to say 'hey, this is wrong?'"
Not everyone agreed that the costume showed racist undertones, as an international user asked: “As someone from outside the US, I don’t see any resemblance between the costume and that Jim Crow drawing. Is there some historic racist reference I’m missing?”
Another wrote: “It looks like part harlequin, part Protestant Irish, and part creeper grin.”
A user added: “Just the way he is posed? I don’t get it, it’s just an orange clown costume.”
The Halloween costume is not the only controversy Target is currently facing.
Last week, the American Federation of Teachers, a teachers’ union, called for a boycott of Target as kids head back to school.
They said they were taking action due to what they see as 'Target’s refusal to condemn the unlawful Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that continues to roil communities around the country'.
AFT President Randi Weingarten said: "Seven months since the murders of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, masked ICE agents are still in our streets, our schools and our communities, terrorizing families in the name of Donald Trump’s illegal and immoral assault on immigrants striving for their American Dream.
"That’s why we’re urging our members to avoid Target and patronize more ethical shopping alternatives this back-to-school season.”
UNILAD has contacted Target for a comment.
Britt Jones