The artist who sells Satanic merchandise and was hired by Target to design three “Pride Month” items shuttered the Etsy store and website which carried the merchandise as sales skyrocketed.
Erik Carnell, who runs the company Abprallen and designed a mini messenger bag with the slogan “We Belong Everywhere,” a tote bag with the phrase “Too Queer For Here,” and a sweatshirt emblazoned with “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People” for the nationwide retailer, was later exposed to have a number of items featuring the LGBTQ movement alongside imagery of Satan. Products featured on the artist’s website, which were not sold by Target, included a t-shirt with the phrase “Satan Respects Pronouns” and a design of a skeleton draped in rainbow colors that said “Trans Witches For Abortion.”
The Etsy website for Abprallen and the company’s online store have been temporarily shuttered as Carnell attempts to fulfill demand. “Thank you all for your unrelenting support and love. The positivity and beautiful vibes you’ve sent my way this past week has been overwhelming and I can’t thank you enough,” the artist wrote on the online store’s landing page. “I am putting the shop on a short break while I catch up on all of your orders.”
Carnell, who is based in London, said in an interview with the Daily Dot that Target suggested the creation of the items one year ago. The artist encouraged Target and other firms which support the LGBTQ movement to avoid caving to pressure from conservatives.
“Once they get bored of targeting people like Dylan Mulvaney on Instagram, they’re going to move onto real people in their areas,” Carnell asserted to the outlet.
Conservatives have indeed avoided Bud Light after the brand featured self-identified transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a marketing effort last month, causing sales for the brew and other Anheuser-Busch brands to plummet. Target made calls to managers and senior directors last week amid the backlash against the firm, reportedly telling the employees to make their “Pride Month” displays less prominent for fear of provoking another “Bud Light situation,” a reference to the beer brand’s rapidly declining sales.
Target’s market capitalization, which refers to the total value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding shares, nevertheless fell from $70.4 billion to $65.1 billion over the past week.
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, who was broadly supportive of the boycott effort against Bud Light, remarked on Thursday that the moves against Target have real “staying power” and noted that the retailer’s suffering is likewise self-inflicted.
“Target has now branded itself as a far left organization, to the point where it’s embarrassing to shop there. This is the branding that makes the boycott stick. It happened to Bud Light. I think it’s happening to Target,” he commented. “This is what conservatives have missed in the past with failed boycott attempts. It’s not enough to simply tell people not to shop somewhere or buy something. You have to make it so they don’t want to.”
Target provoked additional controversy last week with a female swimsuit marketed as “tuck-friendly” and “extra crotch coverage,” allowing men who call themselves women to wear the items. Beyond the swimsuit, which only came in adult sizes, Target unveiled products for kids and babies, such as onesies with phrases like “Just Be You And Feel The Love,” as well as rainbow-colored leggings, tutu skirts, jumpers, and a variety of children’s books.