Shea Couleé Claps Back at Target After Fan Can't Buy Pride Merch

Shea Couleé is taking a stance!

A fan named Michael (@miko_chaymbuhz on Twitter) went viral this week after claiming that he wasn’t allowed to buy Pride merch at a Target store. He wrote in a tweet:

“Tried to buy the Shea Couleé shirt at Target today and was told I was not able to purchase it. They took it back and I watched them remove all the DragQueenMerch items from the floor.”

In an interview with Out, DragQueenMerch CEO Biblegirl talked about how her LGBTQ-owned business was partnering with Target for a Pride collection that featured several RuPaul’s Drag Race queens.

Michael’s tweet went viral and caught the attention of none other than Shea Couleé herself. The All Stars 5 winner wrote in a quote-tweet:

“So sad to hear about this experience at Target. However, I’m not surprised that a corporation that engaged in performative allyship for capitalistic gain would flip. Michael, you let me know what size you need, and I’ll make sure personally that you get one. That way you won’t be giving Target any more underserved money.”

Couleé’s tweet has already garnered 10,300+ likes and over a million views as of this writing. Now, even more people want to understand what Michael experienced at this particular Target store.

Michael explained in his original thread that everything looked fine when he first saw the Pride section at a Target store.

“I was honestly surprised and happy when I walked in the store to still see a Pride section at a Target store. And to see a Shea shirt for sale? Score. It wasn’t until I went to ring it up that the POS system said to not sell it and take them all off the floor.”

He continued, “I talked to two people at that store (both of which were incredibly understanding and kind) asking why I wasn’t able to purchase it. The second person I talked to was wearing a Target pronouns shirt, so I felt safe talking to them.”

This is when Michael realized what was really going on regarding his inability to purchase this Shea Couleé t-shirt.

“They said it was very likely due to Target pulling their Pride merch from stores” Michael wrote in a subsequent tweet. “They said they felt as defeated about it as I did. I told them I used to work for Target as well and it’s shameful and such a gut punch to the LGBTQ+ people who work there.”

He added, “After I thanked them and wished them a happy Pride, I called the Guest Services number from my car and told the person how shameful it was and how upset I am as a former employee and Target shopper to see this response. I believe I used the words ‘kick in the face’ as well.”

Unfortunately, the response that Michael allegedly heard from a Target customer service rep wasn’t exactly helpful, thoughtful, or even respectful. He explained:

“I got a canned ‘Thank you for your feedback, we will distribute it to the leaders’ response, which was almost as bad as saying nothing at all. Got off the phone and everything from the past few months were unearthed and I just cried to myself for a while.”

Michael’s subsequent tweet read, “Target succumbing to the bigoted demands of right-wing supporters is disgusting. It hurts on so many levels as a shopper, friend/family of current employees, former employee, and Minnesotan because we’re damn proud of Target most of the time.”

Michael shared how he personally feels while still processing this entire situation.

“I’m just so sad. I’m sad this is the state of our world right now. And I’m scared. I know my friends are scared. I know my family is scared. I didn’t think a denied Target purchase was going to be what brought up all these emotions, but it did.”

He concluded, “I don’t know where to go from here. I try to always keep looking forward and brushing things off, but it’s just getting difficult to do that. I’m just sad about all of this.”

Other Twitter users replied to Michael’s thread claiming that they also experienced similar things at Target stores recently, which suggests that this wasn’t an isolated situation by any means.