The recent announcement of a planned partnership with Target had some Lady Gaga fans complaining she’d been caught in a bad romance. But in an interview with Billboard magazine, Gaga reveals the deal also involved securing a small portion of the company’s community funds for queer groups:
“That discussion was one of the most intense conversations I’ve ever had in a business meeting,” 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.”
Advertisement
Target has been the focus of a gay boycott ever since the retailer donated $150,000 in corporate funds to Minnesota Forward, a political action group. The organization backed Tom Emmer, who supported a constitutional ban on gay marriage, in his failed run for governor of Minnesota.
Target has 1,743 stores across the United States and recently announced the purchase of the leases of 220 Zellers sites across Canada.
The Billboard report also says the retailer plans to create a new “policy committee” to review the company’s donations to community efforts — which amount to $156 million a year.
In an interview with Target’s public relations vice-president, Dustee Tucker Jenkins, Jenkins explains that the company’s CEO, Gregg Steinhafel, will not be a part of the committee.
Why you can trust Xtra
