Gay couple denied purchase of displayed Pride onesie at Target in Florida

By Steve King

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    LAKE PARK, Florida (WPBF) — A gay couple in West Palm Beach says they were mistreated by Target while shopping for their baby and now they’re demanding that the company reverse its decision made ahead of June to pull some of its Pride merchandise.

A trip to buy baby formula, diapers and clothes ended in outrage for a gay couple at the Target off Northlake Boulevard in Lake Park on Saturday morning, when they were told by an employee and the manager that they couldn’t buy a Pride-themed onesie that was on the shelf in the Pride section.

“We were pretty shocked,” said Michael Hoffacker, one of the shoppers.

Hoffacker and Michael Roedel brought the 12-month Pride-themed onesie to the self-checkout aisle and the screen showed an alert that an employee was on the way. The onesie had a tag and barcode attached to it.

“A Target team member walked over and she let us know that that item should have been pulled from the shelves and it had a ‘Do Not Sell’ on it and they would not be able to sell us the item,” said Hoffacker.

“I was confident that with the fact that it was there that we would be able to actually purchase it and that I would actually be able to talk one of the managers into selling it to us,” said Hoffacker.

Target would not sell the item to the couple.

“We said that that was unreasonable. (The manager) told us if she were to sell us the item, she would probably lose her job,” said Hoffacker.

The manager told the couple, who had their 10-month-old son with them, their only option was to call an 800-number. They called, but Target representatives said there was nothing that could be done.

Now, the couple has sent a letter to the Target CEO, board of directors and other leadership, calling for the company to reverse its decision to pull some Pride items ahead of Pride month.

Here is Target’s statement regarding this decision, announced on May 24:

“For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.” The couple says they’re outraged by the way they were treated on Saturday.

“It was a pretty painful and emotional moment,” said Hoffacker. “I’ve never actually felt restricted from my rights as a gay man through being in college to when I came out until now, I mean this was one of the moments when I felt like I didn’t have the rights that I deserved to have. It was very uncomfortable.”

“Infuriating,” said Roedel. “That says it all. Infuriating… Target, in this moment, is wrong. They need to be better and they need to be a better ally in this community and especially in a situation where our family is there, trying to celebrate who we are in a very, very historic and proud, prideful June, and we’re there having a team lead, a manager at Target, tell us we can’t buy a product to actually celebrate our community … Target needs to do better because we are as big of a community as anybody else out there with a right to shop in their stores, and when they take merchandise away from us in this way it’s hurtful and it’s infuriating and it makes us feel less than. And, that’s just not OK from a brand we supported for so long,” said Roedel.

The CEO of Compass LGBTQ Community Center in Palm Beach County, Julie Seaver, weighed in on the incident.

“I was very upset to hear about the experience of this wonderful family,” said Seaver. “It’s such a shame, especially because it’s Pride month and so I think the most important thing to remember is that true allyship is not convenient and it’s not meant to be comfortable and allyship means more than just words. It means actions.”

WPBF 25 News has reached out to Target about this incident.

Here is the letter sent from the couple to Target leadership:

“Dear Mr. Cornell and members of the Board of Directors,

“My name is Michael Hoffacker, I live in West Palm Beach, FL and my husband and I are very active in the Palm Beach County LGBTQIA+ Community. We have long frequented several of the Target locations throughout Palm Beach County. I would like to bring to your attention an infuriating and unacceptable experience that occurred at your Lake Park Target store location in Palm Beach County, FL on the morning of June 3, 2023.

“My husband, son and I were shopping for Pride merchandise, as we have in previous years at Target without incident. We found merchandise for our son, a onesie that said “Bien, Proud,” added it to our cart and proceeded to take it to the self-checkout registers. This Pride merchandise was in addition to several hundred dollars of diapers and formula we also were buying. When we got to checkout and tried to scan the onesie, a screen popped up with an alert that required a team member to assist.

“After calling over a team member, we were informed that even though the merchandise was on your shelves, we could not purchase it because it was Pride related and should not have been available for purchase. After speaking with an Executive Team Lead, who was wearing a shirt with multiple pronouns on it in an apparent nod to diversity, we were told there is nothing she could do. She said she could lose her job if she sold us the onesie and that the policy was in place for team safety, etc. She gave excuse after excuse, with no compassion of how these actions and decisions negatively impacted my family, my identity, my dignity.

“Target claims to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, or so I was told by your Executive Team Lead during our exchange. However, Allyship requires standing strong for those who are marginalized when it matters most. Target failed, and continues to fail, to do so in this moment. Instead, Target has allowed itself to be bullied by a small, vocal minority using a tried-and-true playbook to threaten violence and fear against viewpoints they disagree with. This impacts us all. What will you do when they come for other minorities next? Pull their merchandise, as well?

“You have a chance to reverse this hurtful decision at the beginning of Pride month. Until I see your company living the mission and values you proclaim to embody, you’ve lost a very loyal customer, my family and countless others I will be sharing this story with. Do better, Target.

Sincerely, Michael Hoffacker”

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