Target Apologizes & Pulls "Offensive" Halloween Costume After Backlash

It may only be August, but Target is responsible for this year’s first offensive Halloween costume controversy.

Under the kids section was a costume dubbed the “Glows under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume Bodysuit” from Hyde and EEK! Boutique.

The imagery for the costume featured a young Black kid in an orange-and-black striped outfit, with a mask over the bottom half of his face that had big red lips on it, as well as a mini hat angled to the side.

Between the oversized lips, toothy grin, the hat and even the running pose, for some, it evoked the imagery of Jim Crow era minstrelsy— when white people wore blackface and did offensive caricatures of Black people.

The outrage was swift, and Target immediately pulled the costume from its site and apologized to its Black staff and shoppers.

“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. 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 walked back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the top of 2025, and its foot traffic quickly tumbled for eight straight weeks; CEO Brian Cornell even called for a meeting with Al Sharpton to stop the bleeding.

Following the meeting, Sharpton said the conversation was “very constructive and candid.” But the sales slump stuck, which led to Cornell stepping down as CEO in early 2026 after holding the position since 2014.