In a recent turn of events, retail giant Target has found itself at the center of a heated controversy surrounding its 2023 Pride Collection. The company partnered with Erik Carnell, the transgender designer behind the U.K.-based brand Abprallen, to create merchandise for the collection. However, this collaboration quickly stirred up public backlash and boycotts, prompting Target to remove certain items and distance itself from the designer.
Critics of Target discovered that Abprallen’s Etsy shop featured merchandise with occult images and phrases such as “Satan Respects Pronouns” and “Trans Witches For Abortion.” Understandably, this sparked outrage among many customers who found these products offensive and inappropriate for a mainstream retailer like Target. Additionally, concerns were raised about the availability of “tuck-friendly” swimwear in Target stores, further fueling the controversy.
In response to the public outcry, Target took swift action by moving displays to the back in some instances and removing the controversial items, including Carnell’s designs. However, the designer himself criticized Target’s response, accusing the retailer of caving into pressure and abandoning the LGBTQ+ community when it was convenient.
“It’s a very dangerous precedent to set, that if people just get riled up enough about the products that you’re selling, you can completely distance yourself from the LGBT community, when and if it’s convenient,” Carnell told Reuters.
“If you’re going to take a stance and say that you care about the LGBT community, you need to stand by that regardless,” Carnell continued.
Carnell claimed that Target was aware of the satanic imagery in his work before extending the partnership offer, contradicting earlier reports. He defended his designs by stating that they were no more harmful than horror movies aimed at adults and that Target had previously acknowledged his work would not be a good fit for their collection. Carnell explained that the phrase “Satan Respects Pronouns” was intended to challenge the negative stereotypes often associated with the LGBTQ+ community and embrace concepts of hope, compassion, equality, and love.
“When I was approached to create products for Target they told me that my work such as ‘Satan Respects Pronouns’ wouldn’t be a good fit,” Carnell said. “They were observant enough and had the necessary critical thinking skills to realize that my use of occult imagery is as harmless as any horror movie targeted towards adults but wanted my collection for adults to be a bit less gothic.”
Carnell explained one of his designs by saying, “One of my favorite and most popular designs, and the one that gave Abprallen its proper footing and direction. Coming up with this phrase really helped make Abprallen what it is today,” he captioned the image of a “Satan respects pronouns” item.
“Satan loves you and respects who you are; you’re important and valuable in this world and you deserve to treat yourself with love and respect. LGBT+ people are so often referred to as being a product of Satan or going against God’s will, so fine. We’ll hang with Satan instead.”
“Satanists don’t actually believe in Satan, he is merely used as a symbol of passion, pride, and liberty. He means to you what you need him to mean. So for me, Satan is hope, compassion, equality, and love,” the post continued.
