Target apologized Monday and said it had removed a children’s Halloween costume that was widely criticized as racist after facing backlash.
The clown costume, which was sold on Target’s website as “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” showed a Black child model in an orange and black outfit, with a mask featuring an exaggerated smile and mini top hat.
Critics said the costume and the child’s pose in the photo resembled racist caricatures in blackface from Jim Crow-era minstrel shows.
The company issued an apology Monday and said it had stopped selling the costume.
“As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” Target said in a statement. “The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment.”
Target also acknowledged that the costume was “especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.”
Blackface minstrelsy was a popular form of entertainment among post-Civil War whites, according to The Associated Press. White men would darken their faces to create caricatures of Black people, including large mouths, lips and eyes, woolly hair and coal-black skin. The performances would stereotype black men and women as ignorant, hypersexual, superstitious, lazy people who were prone to thievery and cowardice.
The costume is the latest controversy for Target.
In 2023, the company faced criticism for its handling of products in its Pride Collection. It removed certain items from its stores and made other changes to its LGBTQ-themed merchandise nationwide after an intense backlash from some customers, including violent confrontations with its workers. The following year, it reduced the number of stores carrying Pride-themed merchandise.
Last year, Target followed in the footsteps of Walmart, Meta and McDonald’s by rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Shoppers responded with a Target boycott and other protests.
