Gay couple in Florida claims Target worker stopped them from buying a PRIDE onesie

A gay couple in Florida claimed a Target employee stopped them from buying a Pride onesie for their son because the item should have been pulled from the shelves.  

Michael Hoffacker and Michael Roedel tried to buy a Pride outfit for their 10-month-old child, but they were told by staff that they weren’t allowed to purchase it. 

They took the rainbow-themed item of clothing to a self-checkout, but as they scanned it, an alert flashed up on the screen. 

A staff member then let them know that the item had a ‘do not sell’ tag on it because it had been pulled from shelves amid the backlash Target is facing for its Pride Month merchandise. 

This comes as Target has suffered financial setback after financial setback – with JPMorgan downgrading its stock as its market value plummeted by $12billion over backlash to its controversial LGBTQ Pride product release. 

Gay couple Michael Hoffacker and Michael Roedel were trying to buy a Pride onesie for their 10-month-old child, but they were told by staff that they weren’t allowed to purchase it

Target has suffered financial setback after financial setback – with JPMorgan downgrading its stock as its market value plummeted by $12billion over backlash to its controversial LGBTQ Pride product release

Hoffacker told WPBF: ‘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.

‘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.’ 

The gay couple then called the manager to see if they could convince her to let them buy it.  

He said the manager at the Target on Northlake Boulevard in Lake Park told the couple that if they sold them the onesie, she would probably lose her job. 

The ordeal rocked the couple, who said it was a painful, infuriating moment.

And they said Target needs to be a better ally to the gay community in the face of the backlash they are facing.  

Hoffacker said: ‘It was a pretty painful and emotional moment. 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.’

The gay couple called the manager in the Florida store to see if they could convince her to let them buy it – but it did not work

Target has had billions wiped from its value following the criticism over the Pride collection

Roedel added: ‘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.’

Target has been contacted for comment. 

The pair have now demanded that the company reverse their decision to pull the Pride items from shelves – and sent a letter to the Board of Directors for Target. 

This comes after a former Target executive said the retailer’s biggest mistake was selling ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear for Pride, which has led to a $12billion loss since mid-May.

Former Target Vice Chairman Gerald Storch believes the company’s controversial ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear set Target’s Pride collection apart from others for the worst.

‘I’ve never seen a case where one item, that tuck swimsuit, that’s really what made the difference versus the competitors. That’s where the big mistake [was] made,’ he told Fox and Friends.

He said other companies carried colored plates and gingerbread houses and that’s ‘fine’ because ‘who cares? Everybody carries that stuff.’