Target has apologized for a Halloween clown costume that sparked backlash on social media and says it will no longer be selling the item.
“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,” the company wrote in a statement on X on Monday.
Business Insider viewed dozens of posts on social media, in which people posted screenshots of a Target product listed under the name “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume.” The product image showed a Black child dressed in a colorful orange and black top, paired with solid black gloves and a large mask depicting a broad smile.
Several social media users on X, Threads, and Instagram likened the product to racist depictions of Black people, saying it evoked Jim Crow-era caricatures and blackface minstrel imagery.
The product was not listed on Target’s online store at press time.
“As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners,” Target said in its statement.
The company said it is also looking into how the product ended up in stores, and will examine “what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”
The Halloween costume controversy comes nearly a year after Target rolled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
This also isn’t the first time Target has faced criticism over a Halloween product.
In 2009, the retailer removed an “Illegal Alien” Halloween costume from its website after complaints from immigrant-rights advocates. The costume featured a space-alien mask, an orange jumpsuit bearing the words “Illegal Alien,” and a fake green card.
In 2016, Target pulled a “Women’s Granny Costume” after the same outfit was sold on other retailers’ websites under a transphobic name. Target told Fortune it had received no complaints about its listing but removed the costume “out of respect for public concerns.”
Halloween costumes have landed other major retailers in hot water over the years.
Walmart faced backlash in 2015 for selling a children’s Halloween costume modeled after an Israeli soldier’s uniform. It also carried a latex prosthetic called the “Sheik Fagin Nose,” marketed as “perfect for an Arab Sheik,” which drew criticism online.
UK retailers Asda and Tesco also removed two Halloween costumes in 2017 after complaints that they reinforced harmful stereotypes about mental illness.
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