17580: Outraged Public’s Not Clowning Around With Target.

 

People reported Target took heat for hyping a racist Halloween costume (depicted above).

It’s not the first time trick-or-treating at Target touched off trouble. It’s also not the first time “Black guests” have been personally and/or professionally disrespected by the mega-retailer.

Given Target was among the first to diminish DEIBA+ initiatives in recent times, the latest Halloween scandal is, well, scary.

Target Pulls Clown Halloween Costume After Backlash, Says ‘We Got This Wrong’ in Apology Note

The costume was called out on social media for being racially insensitive

By Madison E. Goldberg

 

Target has removed a clown Halloween costume following criticisms that it evoked blackface, minstrel shows and racist imagery.

 

“An apology from us: We removed an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment,” Target wrote in a statement shared on social media on Monday, Aug. 24. “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,” the statement from Target continued. “Removing the costume is an important first step, and we are looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

 

In photos of the now-deleted costume, sold as “Kids’ Glows under Blacklight Circus Clown,” a young Black boy modeled the outfit, which featured a black-and-orange printed bodysuit and hood with an exaggerated smile and mini top hat.

 

The model’s pose, in which he stands with one leg and arm raised in a waving gesture, particularly sparked criticism for its affiliation with Jim Crow-era negative depictions of Black people, according to The Cut.

 

“Target, for real? I’m not surprised, but this is a new low,” comedian LaTrez Anderson said in a now-deleted Instagram Reel about the costume, per the outlet.

 

“The amount of people this costume had to go through to get approved says A. LOT. WHAT YEAR IS IT!?” an Instagram user commented on Target’s apology post.

 

Blackface is defined as “dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a Black person and especially to mock or ridicule Black people,” according to Merriam-Webster. The use of blackface in the U.S. was initially recorded through “minstrel shows,” in which white performers would wear blackface and mock Black people based on negative stereotypes, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

The Halloween costume controversy comes nearly a year after Target rolled back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Target CEO Brian Cornell later stepped down after 11 years with the company, it announced in August 2025. Target has faced consumer boycotts since early last year due to the DEI cuts, PEOPLE previously reported.

 

Anne and Lucy Dayton, the daughters of one of Target’s co-founders, called the company’s actions “a betrayal” at the time, CNN previously reported.

15082: Overreaction Of The Week.

As a follow-up-of-sorts to an Overreaction Of The Week from January, Danone Activia Black Yogurt launched a campaign in Ukraine—inspiring more legitimate overreaction with full and partial blackface.

14350: Kelly Red-Faced Over Blackface.

Advertising Age published a report titled, “Madison Ave doesn’t blink over Megyn Kelly drama,” detailing backlash to the TV host’s ignorant comments about blackface. Well, sure, the average Mad Men and Mad Women saw Kelly’s cultural cluelessness and thought, “What an amateur!”

13004: Let It Snowz.

From The New York Times…

‘Skin Whitener’ Ad Sparks Criticism in Thailand

By Katie Rogers

A Thai beauty company that sells skin-whitening products pulled a recent video advertisement after viewers were offended that the ad showed an actress in blackface and compared her unfavorably to a light-skinned woman.

The ad was for Snowz, a skin-whitening pill manufactured by the company Seoul Secret. Viewers were incensed that Cris Horwang, a Thai actress, appeared in blackface. Viewers also took offense at other parts of the video, especially the slogan “You just need to be white to win,” Reuters reported.

On Friday, Seoul Secret published an apology on Facebook and said that the company was pulling the video and all related advertisements.

“Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages,” the statement read. “What we intended to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills, and professionality is crucial.”

The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market in the world for skin lighteners, and the global market for such products is projected to become a business worth $23 billion by 2020, according to a 2015 report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., a market research firm. For years, companies have aggressively marketed whiteness as the de facto beauty standard in Asian cultures. Words like “radiance” and “perfect” have been used by Olay and L’Oréal to sell to Asian markets.

Ads for products including supplements, drinks and creams can come with blunt and even invasive messaging: A 2012 ad promised that a product would make women’s intimate areas “bright and translucent.”

But Thai companies in particular have been criticized for ridiculing woman and young girls who have dark skin. In Thai culture, dark skin is associated with farmers, a lower-status group of people who have been darkened by the sun. White skin signifies a higher class and beauty standard. The craze for a lighter complexion has caused women to resort to unregulated and illegal products that promise a brighter tone but damage their skin.

In recent years, Thai advertisements have been criticized for being overtly racist. In 2013, the Thai company Vernena was accused of mocking people of African descent for an ad that featured a woman who used a berry drink to change her appearance from dark- to light-skinned. The ad showed an evolution from her old self compared with the African appearance and accent of a man who appears to be her father.

That same year, Citra Thailand, a subsidiary of Unilever, apologized after it offered “scholarship” cash prizes to college students who used a product to lighten their skin, according to The Chiang Rai Times, a Thai newspaper. In the past, the company had published ads that showed a young girl finding acceptance after using a whitening lotion.

On Friday, people on social media continued to debate Seoul Secrets’ apology for its contribution to marketing misstep history.

“Don’t buy,” wrote one critic. “Such a lame excuse.”

Others were not convinced the company had done anything wrong.

“I do not see a problem with your video,” another person wrote. “If people do not like skin whitening, just don’t do it.”

12105: Blackface Match.

From The New York Post…

Students who wore blackface to portray Venus and Serena accused of racism

By Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG — Two white students in South Africa who painted their faces dark to portray Venus and Serena Williams at a costume party have been accused of racism in a country whose painful history of white rule is still vigorously debated.

Stellenbosch University said Thursday that it was investigating the case after being informed about a photograph on Twitter that showed two of its students posing as the tennis stars. It noted social media reaction that mentioned “blackface,” which was common in old American minstrel shows featuring white performers as stereotyped black characters.

The university said it disapproved of any action that could cause offense but noted “various views and opinions” about the matter and did not want to jump to conclusions pending the outcome of the investigation.

The photograph shows two men in sports clothes, holding a tennis racket. One, in a mini-skirt, is wearing a blond wig. Their faces and arms are smeared with a dark substance.

In a statement, the two students and another student who posted the photograph said they aimed to portray two sports stars without “malicious or racial intent,” and that they regret their error in judgment.

Their action “has been associated with ‘blackfacing,’ which we now know is a disparaging practice used to portray offensive racial stereotypes, and we cannot stress enough that this was not our intent,” said the students, who identified themselves as Ross Bartlett, Mark Burman and Michael Weaver.

They said they were attending a Sept. 20 birthday party where people were encouraged to dress up as successful twins.

Some students at Stellenbosch University think the three students involved in the costume controversy should be expelled, while others dismiss the incident as a mistake that should not be taken seriously, the student council said.

The council condemned “blackfacing” and said a disciplinary panel should evaluate a case that has touched on old racial sensitivities in South Africa. The country held its first all-race election in 1994 at the end of white rule, known as apartheid.

“We acknowledge that there is a great deal of unresolved hurt, reaching far beyond the actions of these individuals,” the council said.

11791: Blackface Is In Vogue.

From DiversityInc…

Vogue Publishes Blackface Spread

By Chris Hoenig

The fashion industry’s ignorance of the fact that Blackface is offensive continues, with Vogue’s Italian edition publishing a spread featuring a model in Blackface.

The series of photos in Vogue Italia, titled “Abracadabra,” features model Saskia de Brauw in a variety of ethnic costumes and face-paint colors, including orange and black.

The photo spread continues a disturbing trend among fashion magazines, which ignore the offensive nature of Blackface. Vogue has published at least two spreads that feature models with painted faces, including a spread last year in its magazine in the Netherlands and a 2009 shoot in its French edition. Blackface models were also featured in spreads last year in Numero and Metal magazines. Jeanne Deroo, beauty editor at ELLE France, also posted a picture of herself in Blackface to her Instagram account late last year, and later said she didn’t realize her “costume” was offensive.

“I did not realize the seriousness of my act when I went last Saturday night to a private party with the theme ‘Icons,’ and where I chose to embody Solange Knowles, of whom I am a fan,” she said in a translated apology via Twitter. “I am deeply sorry and would like to offer my apologies. I would also like to indicate that this photo published in a private setting has nothing to do with the editing of ELLE magazine, and I regret the harm it has caused the magazine for which I work.”

Such a statement from a fashion-industry exec is rare, and why editors insist on continuing with such an offensive tradition instead of hiring Black models remains a mystery (though the fashion industry doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to Black models either, often lightening their skin).

The fashion industry’s ignorance turns a blind eye to the history of Blackface—originally used in theater by white actors to portray and mischaracterize Blacks—and has given many the belief that dressing in such a way is acceptable. Last year alone, multiple colleges faced the fallout from student parties that included offensive Blackface costumes. Actress Julianne Hough also publicly apologized for dressing in Blackface for a Halloween party. A Volkswagen commercial that aired during the 2013 Super Bowl also featured an actor in Blackface.

A YouGov poll released last November shows just how little many Americans know about the offensive nature of Blackface. More than 40 percent of those polled think the practice is acceptable, but the numbers show a clear disconnect between Blacks (68 percent say it’s unacceptable) and whites (32 percent say it’s unacceptable, 46 percent say it’s okay). Blacks (76 percent) and Democrats (58 percent) both think it’s unacceptable to portray any racial or ethnic stereotype in a Halloween costume, while more whites (44 percent versus 35 percent) and Republicans (59 percent versus 31 percent) actually think it’s more acceptable than offensive.

11531: Blackface Is The New Black.

The Huffington Post reported Julianne Hough donned Blackface for a Halloween party, appearing as “Orange Is the New Black” character Crazy Eyes. A blackpedaling Hough later stated, “I am a huge fan of the show Orange is the New black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created. It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize.” Clueless is the new Black—or the old White.

11521: Out Of Africa—And Out Of Mind.

From The New York Daily News...

Woman slammed for ‘Africa themed’ party photos showing guests painted black, wearing jungle costumes

The woman, identified only as Olivia, posted several pics from the party to Facebook showing guests in offensive and cartoonish costumes, including black paint, tribal makeup and animal print loincloths.

By Philip Caulfield / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

An Australian woman is being skewered online for hosting an “African themed” 21st birthday party featuring guests in blackface and cartoonish jungle costumes.

The woman, identified only as Olivia, posted several insensitive pics from the party to Facebook in September, but they went viral after Tumblr user Black in Asia spotted them and reposted them last week.

Guests at the bash partied in black or brown body paint, George of the Jungle-style costumes and cheetah-print loincloths, the photos showed.

Others wore dreadlock wigs, tribal-style paint and other mock-traditional garb.

One guest inexplicably donned a hooded Klu Klux Klan costume.

“Attendees were all asked to wear ‘African themed’ clothing to depict the continent and this is what resulted… blackface, elephant and gorilla costumes, warpaint, native American headdresses (?!) and more…. I’m at a loss for words,” Tumblr user Black in Asia wrote.

“And yes, this is from 2013.”

Jezebel called the pics “revolting and offensive.”

The young woman later took to Tumblr to defend herself.

“It was my ‘African themed’ party and it was honestly made that theme because I have always wanted to go to Africa (to teach english) but haven’t made it there yet,” she wrote.

“In no way was this party intended to hurt anyones (sic) feelings or upset anyone at all.”

“However, some guest did decide to paint themselves, although this was in no way my intention or encouraged in the slightest. I understand that this has offended some people and I have no idea how these photos have even been seen, they were simply put on facebook for my guests to see the photos of themselves,” she wrote.

She later described a friend from Mauritius, an island nation off Africa’s eastern coast, who painted himself white for the party but wasn’t pictured in Black In Asia’s post.

She insisted that no one was offended by his costume choice.

She also denied Black in Asia’s assertion that she “flatly refused” to take the pics down after someone complained.

“Also, I have NEVER been asked to take these photos down, however if I had of course I would have done so, as I had no idea that anyone other than friends and guests could see these photos…” she wrote.

“For those who know me at all you would know the last thing in the world I would want to do would be to offend people.”

Her Facebook and other social media accounts have since been deleted, news.com.au reported.

10948: Volkswagen Bugs People.

The New York Daily News reported on the controversy surrounding a new Volkswagen commercial featuring non-Jamaican people speaking with Jamaican accents. New York Times columnist Charles Blow declared it was “like blackface with voices.” The German carmaker defended itself by revealing it had consulted 100 Jamaicans during production and hired a speech coach to ensure authenticity. Perhaps the most peculiar critique came from culturally clueless Curator of Popular Culture Barbara Lippert, who appeared on the TODAY Show and hollered, “This is so racist. … It’s just saying, ‘Black people are happy.’” Huh? Guess all of Lippert’s years in the advertising industry didn’t expose her to any happy Blacks. Oddly enough, in a 2007 Adweek column, Lippert took no offense to the revival of Uncle Ben.

Volkswagen Super Bowl ad provokes intense criticism: ‘blackface with voices’

The ire comes from the use of a heavy Jamaican accent by a white office worker, who tells his disgruntled colleagues, ‘No worries, man, everything will be alright.’

By Adam Edelman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A Volkswagen ad slated to air during the Super Bowl this Sunday is getting criticized for being racist.

The controversial ad features a jovial white office worker speaking to disgruntled colleagues with a thick Jamaican accent.

The spot has already elicited intense criticism with one prominent essayist calling the ad, “blackface with voices.”

In the one-minute advertisement, which is thought to have cost the carmaker $8 million for the airtime, a group of unhappy employees are shown standing in an elevator complaining about it being Monday.

Behind them, a young, spirited, white employee turns to them and says, “no worries, man, everything will be alright,” in a heavy Jamaican accent.

In another scene, an annoyed worker is seen pounding at a vending machine.

The man tells him, “Don’t fret, my brother, sticky bun come soon,” again in the Jamaican accent.

At one point a confused colleague confirms that the employee is, in fact, from Minnesota. “Yessa, the land of 10,000 lakes. The Gopher State,” he responds in the accent.

At the end of the spot, the man is seen driving away from the office in his Volkswagen car with two of his colleagues, who upon arriving at their destination, spout similarly optimistic phrases in the same Jamaican accent.

The ad prompted a barrage of critics to accuse Volkswagen of being racist.

“This is so racist,” Barbara Lippert, editor-at-large of Mediapost.com, said on TODAY. “It’s just saying, ‘Black people are happy.’”

And during a segment on CNN’s Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien, columnist Charles Blow said the ad was “like blackface with voices. I don’t like that.”

For its part Volkswagen representatives told CNN that the company consulted with 100 Jamaicans and a speech coach to make sure they weren’t being offensive.

10888: Holiday Cheer—With Blackface.

The New York Daily News reported German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared at a holiday event with children in blackface. A few years ago, Merkel declared her country’s attempts to create a multicultural society had utterly failed. It looks like she’s right.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses with children in blackface for Three King’s Day celebration

The kids arrived Berlin’s Chancellery building from all over Germany to sing holiday carols for Three King’s Day, but, embarrassingly, some of the young Magi showed up with traditional darkened faces.

By Michael Walsh / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Photos of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with children in blackface have many viewers scratching their heads.

The children arrived on the steps of the Chancellery in Berlin to sing holiday carols for Three King’s Day. The young carolers arrived from all over Germany on Friday, reported The Associated Press.

But when the pictures hit the Internet shortly after, one aspect of the reception stood out — and it had nothing to do with what the children sang.

Multiple children had painted their faces for the occasion and Merkel simply stood there smiling for the photo op. In at least one photo, Merkel can be seen eyeing a young girl suspiciously.

According to The Telegraph, it is customary for one person in a group of carolers to darken his or her face to represent one of Three Wise Men — also called the Magi — who, Christians believe, visited Jesus after his birth bearing gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The celebration is intended to commemorate what Christians refer to as the Epiphany. But the only epiphany Merkel may have gleaned after the incident is that many people consider those images highly offensive.

So far, it does not appear that the New Year is shaping up well for the German leader. On top of the Three King’s Day troubles, her coalition partners in the Free Democratic Party have been falling behind in the polls, reported The Telegraph.

9539: Wigging Out With Bing.

Bing celebrates The Annual Flaunting of the Wigs—yet aren’t most folks using the search engine to find Afro wigs for Blackface parties?

7767: Cultural Cluelessness In Mexico.

From The Los Angeles Times…

In Mexico, Times report on network’s use of blackface renews racism debate

The Mexican media conglomerate Televisa employs actors in blackface during a popular morning program on the World Cup, underscoring once more the conflicting attitudes held by Mexico and the United States about race and racism. Tracy Wilkinson writes in The Times:

But this is Mexico, and definitions of racism are complicated and influenced by the country’s own tortured relationship with invading powers and indigenous cultures.

Many Mexicans will say they are not racist and that very little racism exists in Mexico, a nation, after all, of mestizos, who are of European and indigenous blood.
As proof, they point to the fact that slavery was ended in Mexico decades before it was abolished in the United States, and that Mexico never institutionalized racism the way the U.S. did with its segregationist laws that lasted into the 1960s.

Mexicans, it turns out, just don’t see caricatures of Africans or black people as inherently racist, bringing to mind the flap in 2005 over a historic comic book character named Memin Pinguin, beloved by Mexicans but reviled in the U.S. for his exaggerated African features. Wilkinson adds:

Still, in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, people operate with a different comfort level when it comes to physical attributes. It remains common for Mexicans to use nicknames like “Chino” for someone with almond-shaped eyes, “Negrito” for someone with dark skin, “Gordo” (Fatso) for a plump person.

These terms are jarring when seen through the prism of U.S. sensibilities, but here they are usually used in a context of affection and friendship.

In online reader comments to an article in the El Universal newspaper on the Times report, many readers reacted with indignation to the suggestion that the Televisa skits are racist (link in Spanish). “Disgusting double standard for an imperialist and invading country,” wrote one El Universal reader. “They should be ashamed criticizing a cartoon.”

But another reader commented: “Showing people in black-face as primitive persons is the same as showing Mexicans as delinquents, and of course the latter doesn’t strike us as a joke. Both acts are racist, but the difference is one makes us laugh and therefore it’s approved.”

Author David Lida, in a post on his blog, discussed the image used on a Mexican snack cake called “Negrito” as another instance of Mexico’s blithe treatment of racial caricatures:

I’ve never met a Mexican who copped to being a racist. Some, particularly from the upper echelons, lament that their society is class-based, but argue that since nearly everyone is mestizo—with a mixture of Spanish and indigenous blood—therefore how could they be racist?

Meanwhile, in an article on the Memin Pinguin controversy in the Boston Review, historian Claudio Lomnitz argues that the scandalized American responses to Mexican racial caricatures reflect a recent phenomenon of identity politics and “political correctness” that has no direct equivalent in Mexico or the rest of Latin America. It’s a long article but worth reading:

There has been a sea change since the 1980s in the ways that Latin American race relations are understood by American academics and educators. Criticism of race relations and racism in Brazil, Mexico, the Andes, the Caribbean, and Central America has developed as a natural extension of multiculturalism and identity politics in the United States, and many studies describe persistent racial inequalities masked by the idea of racial democracy. This criticism and research has, in turn, fed discussions of race in Latin America, albeit in an attenuated manner: Brazil has had its own proponents of “black power,” and racism against Indians has become a theme in Mexican social movements. Because these challenges are difficult to reconcile with Mexico’s 80-year-old ideology of national integration, they are often downplayed in public debate — as if Mexican racism had long been taken care of, and as if whatever remains of it were somehow less harmful because things are worse in the United States.

So what’s your take? Is racism in Mexico alive and well? Or is Mexico, with its long history of racial mixture, just racially liberated? The questions get to the core of one of the most complex aspects of Mexican identity. Mexico’s Televisa can’t be accused of tiptoeing around them.

—Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

7058: Mad Mention.

Just wanted to briefly elaborate on the latest episode of AMC series Mad Men, tapping the perspective by Latoya Peterson. Creator Matthew Weiner really is culturally clueless, especially when dealing with Blacks. But more importantly, Weiner is dishonest in racial depictions, despite boasting the program is historically accurate. Last night’s installment crystallized the point. Through Carla the housekeeper, Weiner continues to present Blacks as noble and heroic—victims who stand with dignity in the face of adversity. Yet the show’s creator is simply unable or unwilling to reveal the true faces of Whites, opting to go with a cartoonish Blackface scenario that appears wildly outdated. Roger Sterling is so bizarre that White audiences will barely take offense. Weiner hasn’t hesitated to allow the Mad Men cast to display anti-Semitism, sexism and homophobia. Why won’t he let the characters show the true racism of the period?