Supermarket spokesperson issues second response after ‘offensive’ Halloween costume goes viral

US supermarket Target has found itself the subject of massive backlash after people spotted what they described as a racist blackface costume that referenced minstrel shows. 

Marketed as a “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” the highly controversial product depicted a Black child in a black and orange clown-esque outfit. It also featured a massive toothy smile and exaggerated posing, which drew comparisons to minstrel shows. 

People were incredibly angry about it on Twitter, even moreso considering Target’s recent decision to roll back DEI hiring. 

Doubt @Target never would have made the disastrous decision to market a Halloween costume that looks like it’s straight out of the Jim Crow era if Black folks had a seat at the table.

Anyway, looks like they pulled it. pic.twitter.com/lF79v4yePf

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) August 23, 2026

One person wrote: “First you remove black brands from your stores, then you have a mess black history month collection, now a racist CARICATURE? Oh absolutely not.”

“And this is why DIVERSITY is important. If there was a black person in the room they could’ve told you this wasn’t a good idea,” somebody else said. 

A third added: “Target, how does something this painful even make it past the design stage? Glad it’s gone, but the disappointment hits hard.”

Target, and people representing the company, have since issued statements, but it’s done nothing to quell the backlash online. 

Here are Target’s statements about the racist allegations 

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. 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 News (@TargetNews) August 24, 2026

Most Read

I was at Bonnie Blue’s g*lden shower event – here’s the gross lowdown of what happened

‘Hot’ man who went viral for arrest video speaks out, and he’s dropping nudes left and right

Love Is Blind bride shares moment she knew she couldn’t escape show groom who tried to murder her

“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. 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,” the company said. “Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

Target spokesperson Brian Harper-Tibaldo echoed that sentiment, pretty much reciting the company message to Fox News line for line. 

Nah, this is worse than the "coolest monkey" sweater from H&M.

You done fucked up Target. https://t.co/Gy9oF5GNqL pic.twitter.com/C2Bmz3X4qG

— Zero (@zerowontmiss) August 25, 2026

He said: “As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.

“Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

More information is expected to follow as Target investigates how this even happened in the first place. 

For more like this, follow The Tab on Instagram.

Featured image credit: ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock