Target Pulls Kids' Clown Costume and Apologizes After Critics Say It Evoked Blackface Minstrel Imagery

The Costume and the Backlash

The product, listed as the "Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume" under Target's seasonal Hyde & EEK Boutique brand, was advertised with an image of a Black child in an orange and black top, solid black gloves and a mask with a wide, toothy smile. Critics said the pose, gloves and mask echoed the blackface caricatures of 19th-century minstrel shows.

"The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment," Target said in its statement, adding that the episode is "especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners" and that it is examining how the product was approved. The company declined to tell CNN who designed the costume or how it was green-lit.

A Company Already Under Pressure

The controversy lands on a retailer still managing the fallout of its decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in January 2025, which triggered boycott calls from activists and criticism from the daughters of one of Target's co-founders. Target's stock fell from $137.40 the day the DEI cuts were announced to $104.70 by mid-March of that year.

Last week brought a separate front: the American Federation of Teachers called on CEO Michael Fiddelke to demand an end to Operation Metro Surge, the National Guard deployment in Minneapolis, Target's home city, earlier this year.

What Comes Next

Target says removing the costume is "an important first step" while it reviews what needs to change. The company had been staging a financial recovery from the boycott-era lows; whether this episode reignites consumer pressure, or passes as a contained product failure, depends largely on what its review produces and whether it explains how the costume reached shelves at all.