Target CEO Slams ‘Gut-Wrenching’ Threats Over LGBTQ-Themed Goods

Target Corp.’s top executive hammered the aggressive behavior that some customers directed toward employees because of the retailer’s collection of LGBTQ-themed merchandise.

The company removed some items from its collection for Pride Month in June, which honors lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, saying a rash of threats made workers feel unsafe. That move followed “many difficult days of deliberation and decision-making,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said in an internal memo.

Brian Cornell

Photographer: Sarah Blesener/Bloomberg

“What you’ve seen in recent days went well beyond discomfort, and it has been gut-wrenching to see what you’ve confronted in our aisles,” Cornell told store ...