Is this how Lady Gaga will make good for helping generate cash for Target? She’s releasing a “limited edition” of “Express Yourself” “Born This Way,” and that a portion of the proceeds will go to “gay rights groups,” whatever those are. But how can you get your hands on this special track? Oh, right, by buying it at Target — which gets the benefit of increased foot traffic in its stores so more of your cash go toward the company’s unregulated support of anti-gay politicians. I believe there is a term to describe this: money laundering. Don’t play along.
Scott
and now conspiracy theories about lady gaga? you’re obsessed with target and its silly.
deferr
agreed, Queertys views on Target are ridiculous and getting sooooo old
redmont
GAGA IS MY QUEEN AND I WILL DO WHATEVER IT IS SHE SAYS
what’s that?
MY QUEEN SAYS YOU ARE TO BE ANNIHILATED!
huh? are you sure?
NEVER MIND SHE SAID SHE WAS ELATED BECAUSE YOU’RE GIVING HER FREE PUBLICITY
🙂
Lefty
@deferr: Yeah, ridiculous. I mean, what’s wrong with a company giving large amounts of money to anti-gay candidates?
Oh, hold on – that is quite wrong, isn’t it?
And they’re still doing it.
And Queerty is a gay news blog, so it kind of isn’t all that ridiculous that they should be reporting on this. No, it’s the sort of thing you would kind of hope they published and if only more gay news outlets and the gay media would highlight this too.
What is quite ridiculous is apparently gay people defending Target.
The company are pursuing their corporate interests at the total expense of the gay people whose lives will be affected by these candidates.
Lady Gaga is pursuing her financial interests in ignoring that and selling out to these cunts.
Not quite sure what gay people defending either get out of it, to be honest.
Red Meat
You guys make me want to go buy everything I need at Target from your stupidity.
Kev C
What are these LGBT charities she’s supporting? The Vatican Support Fund for LGBTs? The Peter Pan charity of Make Believe? Justin Bieber’s Haus of Gayness?
Mike
I feel like all queerty posts now is anti-gaga, anti-target, davey wavey, and that coffee comic. Come on guys, go for a bit more unbiased articles of substance, this is just sounding like an angry series of rants.
Steve
@Lefty: You don’t even begin to understand the extremely basic motives behind Targets support for that idiot. He supported business, he had plans to make businesses get back on their feet and get stronger. And guess what Target is? A BUSINESS!
If Target had said “Hey, we support this guy cuz he hates the gays and we hate them too” then you could rightly justify this animosity towards Target. However, politics are never so black and white. Fiscal conservatives are more likely to be social conservatives, and unfortunately, businesses have to make a political choice to stay alive or to keep their friends.
Do I like that Target supported an anti-gay politician? Fuck no. But I understand that they didn’t support him because of his social agenda.
Britney
lol.
since the main editor at queerty is on vacay we’re gonna get a lot of these stupid posts.
didn’t we just have an article stating that target will donate half a million to lgbt charities and will further amend LGBT relations only after gaga pressured for them to change their stance?
oh okay.
moving to towleroad.
kernelt
whatever my feeling about GAGA (most in favor) it does not blind me from discriminate against Target; after all they haven’t prove that they change, either have a new ceo and/or donating 3x the amount they spend on Anti-gay group toward a GLBT group then I’ll forgive.
MatthewCA
I haven’t been on this site for months because every time I came here the posts were just written to bait or totally inane. Well, here I am again. Congratulations! You’ve written a post that is both inane and baiting. I’m not sure if that’s talent or pure laziness. Given the length and the amount of links from old news, I would say laziness.
I mourn Queerty of two years ago. A little dirty, a little snarky, a little intelligent, and a bit gay. Plus, the level of the writing has obviously deteriorated since then. Frown-y face.
Elijah
The article from MTV.co.uk referenced by the blogger is…well, wrong, to boot. While the deluxe edition of BTW the album will be released by Target (and that’s been known for a few weeks now), the single referenced here and in the MTV article is exclusive to iTunes, not Target. Also, it’s not simply “a portion” – the entire profits of the song will go to LGBT groups.
You don’t have to like Target or Lady Gaga, but at least verify your facts so you don’t look like a fool. It just makes you look petty on top of being wrong.
Elijah
@Elijah: To clarify: the MTV.co.uk article is wrong, too. They’re mixing up the exclusive single with the deluxe edition of the album.
JAW
<<>> <<>> <<>>
This just in… Target Corporation Announces Record Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2010 Earnings
They thanked queerty for the boycott and they are asking that we continue it FOREVER!!!… it seems to be helping.
I have heard that several other companies will be asking queerty to boycott them also,,, it should be good for the economy. Perhaps the President will give queerty an award for jump starting the recovery.
Congrats queerty!!
Alexspade93
Queerty, are you nuts? I can’t understand what’s going on, but it seems to me you got something like delusion of persecution. Honestly, Gaga is not my queen but your ultimatism is stupid and bored. You remind me Don Quixote who’s fighting against windmills and seeking enemy everywhere. I still have a bad aftertaste after your latest “ironic” (but in fact daft remarks) about Adam Lambert interview where he told how his popularity connected with his his responsibility.
John
1) These are two DIFFERENT songs: Lady Gaga – Born This Way vs Madonna – Express Yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXauHPWbarw
2) Lady Gaga’s deal with Target is a CAREER decision which will coincidentally benefit both sides of the LGBT rights divide.
And as for Target? Big biz hedging its political bets in the pursuit of profit?! *face-palm*
Cam
All of the Target trolls get over it. The politicians was tied to a group that called for the death of gays. So you keep on saying that boycotting Target is ridiculous, but if a store gave to the KKK I doubt that Blacks, Jews, and Catholics would be so stupid as to say that boycotting that store was ridiculous.
Justin N.
@Steve: “He supported business, he had plans to make businesses get back on their feet and get stronger. And guess what Target is? A BUSINESS!”
So, “supporting business” means alienating and insulting a significant demographic?
HOW’S THAT WORKIN’ FOR YOU, TARGET?
Seems Target needs to get schooled in how to support its OWN business — by not pissing everybody off.
samthor
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/21/target-agrees-to-stop-funding-anti-gay-groups-following-lady-gaga-deal/
Lady Gaga said. “Part of my deal with Target is that they have to start affiliating themselves with LGBT charity groups and begin to reform and make amends for the mistakes they’ve made in the past … our relationship is hinged upon their reform in the company to support the gay community and to redeem the mistakes they’ve made supporting those [antigay] groups.”
Chuy Christ
I’m a gay and used to work at Target. I must be evil, too. Does that mean Queerty and the rest of the gay community are going to boycott ME?
Gays Against Gaga
Gaysagainstgaga.tumblr.com is the best website for collecting dissenting LGBT voices!
Thanks queerty for going there!
Cam
@Chuy Christ: said…
”
I’m a gay and used to work at Target. I must be evil, too. Does that mean Queerty and the rest of the gay community are going to boycott ME?”
________________________
Thats a stupid comment. If a business is donating money to a candiate that is affilliated with a group that advocates killing gays, then that business is a valid target of a boycott. The Janitor of that business is not responsible for their political contributions.
But, when you come out and defend Target, THEN you ARE supporting them donating to a candidate with ties to that hate group…you should really think about that.
Bryan
She said she had a meeting with Target execs and made them promise to be more friendly towards gay causes before agreeing to the deal.
Winston
the young gays of today have NO IDEA of what we older gays have been through to have the freedom they have today, if it wasn’t for us fighting for the rights we have today, the majority of them would know what being in the closet is,We as a people must ALWAYS fight for our rights and NOT support those that fight AGAINST us,
TARGET is essentially funding HATE groups against us, these so called politicians want to take away what so many of us have fought and DIED for,
TO ALL OF THOSE YOUNG FOOLISH GAYS – RESEARCH OUR HISTORY – AND IF YOU STILL FEEL THAT LADY GAGA AND TARGET SUPPORT US – I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU
JAW
@Winston:
It is you that we should feel sorry for… target has been supporting us, encouraging us and welcoming us for over 20 years. get your facts right.
When Target started gay groups at work, donating to and sponsoring gay events, They were one of the few that did. Companies like Target helped us long before others did. Target took abuse from the far right.
You need to research our History before you bash others.
As an FYI… I do not work for Target, I did work for one of Target’s competition for 30 years. We just started being welcoming to LGBT people about 10 years ago.
Kev C
@JAW: If you love Target so much, why don’t you marry it?
Winston
I GUESS JUST LIKE TARGET YOU ALSO PLAY both SIDES (JAW)
AS FOR FEELING SORRY – WHAT DID MR T SAY ‘ I PITY THE FOOL’
John B
Gaga is as bad to the gay community as Anita Bryant. She is no Madonna.
Sam
Ok, imma stop coming to this site and find my news somewhere else. Queerty articles are crap. This has also inspired me to buy more from target. In fact, i’m gonna go get me a few dvd’s from them tomorrow. Peace out girl scouts.
Paul
Don’t play along ………. indeed
JAW
@Kev C: It is not that I love target, indeed I very seldomly shop there.
What I don’t like is the fact that some one here try to bully them into not doing what they feel best for the company. I have never found a candidate for office that I agree with 100% (including my Father). Gay rights and pro gay candidates are VERY IMPORTANT to me. But they are not the only thing important to me. The wars, health insurance, a job, being able to retire are all as important to me as LGBT rights. I vote and support those candidates that I believe will represent me in most of the things I find important. That is what Target did
justiceontherocks
A little perspective here wouldn’t hurt anyone. Target is a publicly-traded for profit multi-national corporate tax-payer. They are not gay-friendly or unfriendly. They are profit friendly, as the law requires them to be.
They are one of thousands of corporations that gave money to a PAC that gave money to a candidate with repugnant views on social issues. If you stopped shopping every place that did the same thing you wouldn’t shop anywhere.
Target is no worse, and much better, than most publicly-traded companies on matters particularly important to gay people. Are they our “corporate champions?” Hell no. Do they “deserve our support?” Hell no. Is the PAC contribution and their lame response to it way overblown? Hell yes.
Perspective, please.
Lefty
@JAW:
Are you fucking kidding!?
Gay people reporting on and objecting to multi-millionaire CEOs of a large company who donate money to rabidly homophobic candidates are therefore BULLYING that company!?
Incredible.
@Winston: Well said, Winston; but I also think there are a large number from my generation and younger who know what the previous generations had to fight against for our freedom and who not only respect that and are thankful for that but also find the kind of mindless defence of Lady Gaga and Target evidenced above to be quite sickening.
There are also plenty of right-wing fools from previous generations who seem more concerned about the rights of those who oppress us than they do our own rights.
Lefty
@Sam: See if they stock this one, dear…
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/BeforeStonewall.jpg[/img]
Educate yourself.
nineinchnail
Talentless cunt!!!!!
nineinchnail
@John B: Well said!!!!!
JAW
@Lefty:
No lefty I am not… Reporting and objecting are one thing… calling for a boycott, even after the company has changed it’s policy is bulling… and Like I posted earlier… Target posted record earnings during the period of the boycott… so I guess it is not working
Also… your post about Before stonewall is great… The people from the 50’s and 60’s were Very Brave… they had no protections at all… indeed they were considered to be sick in the head.
Barbara Gittings, the woman in the picture with the picket sign, was a great woman and acquaintance
, She was a powerful and well respected speaker. I would suggest, you did, others see the video and do some research.
Brett
This post (among many others about Target) are absolutely, positively insane. Get your facts right, Queerty! Target made one big mistake – fir enough. But they have have supported gay right for years, have a GLBT Business Council at HQ, they sponsor PRIDES, etc. and yet you REFUSE to acknowledge any of the things they have done for gays along the way. Figure it out and do your research before you post another article like this.
Jimmy Fury
You know what’s really funny?
During the boycott those of us who thought it was stupid were just as vilified as the company itself. We were self-hating homophobic uncle toms for pointing out all of the things Target does for the gay community. Or worse, for daring to mention how the gay employees would be the ones to suffer if the boycott was successful.
Now Gaga swoops in an gives Target the thumbs up and suddenly they’re the uberchampions of gay rights and anyone who says different is evil and stupid… fucking priceless.