The Canadian actress who made headlines after her Instastory about Target’s placement of “tuck-friendly” children’s clothing received considerable criticism.
Rachelle Lefevre, most famous for her part in two Twilight films, appeared near tears in her Instastory, declaring she would not bring her “non-binary” child to Target any more. She claimed the department store’s decision to move their PRIDE display to the back of the store was an effort to “erase” people like her daughter.
Her emotianal reaction to the retailer relocating a clothing rack did not go over well with many social media posters.
The Daily Mail further reported:
Twilight star Rachelle Lefevre hit back at the hateful comments she received online after revealing she can no longer take her non-binary seven-year-old to Target after it moved its Pride collection to the back of stores.
Lefevre, 44, – who played Victoria in the franchise’s second movie, New Moon – first took to her Instagram to call out the retail store as she appeared to choke back tears as she thought about how it would affect her seven-year-old child.
She then posted a follow-up video telling her critics that she knows ‘how much pain you have to be in to hate that hard.’
‘I know the kind of hate you have to put inside you to numb the hurt,’ she said in the video. ‘So instead of hating back, I just choose to know how much pain you’re in.’
It comes after Target moved the display to the back of some Southern stores after it made waves for its ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear. In the span of just 10 days, the company lost more than $10billion in market capitalization as it continues to face backlash for the Pride-themed merchandise.
Lefevre accused Target of ‘trying to erase’ the LGBTQ community, including her non-binary seven-year-old, after her local store moved their Pride merchandise display to the back.
It’s not clear which store she visited, but the actress appears to be currently based in the Nashville, Tennessee area.
‘So in my post about Target, I mentioned that my kid was non-binary,’ she began in her latest Instagram video as she thanked those who supported her.
The actress said she initially posted a video ‘punching back’ at the hateful commenters, but then deleted it and replaced it with another one saying she decided to ‘choose to know how much pain you’re in.’
‘To those of you who wrote hurtful, disgusting things – you know who you are, I punched back in a post then deleted it. Boy, I was I was angry.’
Lefevre went on to explain that she was ‘raised by abusive mother and an alcoholic father who didn’t do anything about it.’
‘I know how much pain you have to be in to hate that hard,’ she said. ‘I know the kind of hate you have to put inside you to numb the hurt.’
But instead of ranting to the haters, she said: ‘Instead of hating back, I just choose to know how much pain you’re in.’
‘Whether you’re lonely, you feel put down. Whatever it is that you are numbing with hating other people, I want to say that when you can find the courage to face the pain, and get rid of the anger, I hope there are people there to embrace you who can love you an hold space for you.
‘And when you are ready to show up as your authentic self, the way God made you, full of love, I will be here to say hi, it’s nice to meet you.’
Meanwhile, Lefevre said she will no longer be able to bring her child to Target because she fears they will be upset to see the collection moved.
When Lefevre first saw the collection with her seven-year-old at her side, the child was delighted to see themselves being celebrated.
‘I came in here two days ago, and my seven-year-old, who’s non-binary, saw it and said: “Look, mom, it’s Pride, look! They’re going to celebrate me!’
But after a series of angry mothers took to Twitter and TikTok to complain, the display was moved in some Southern stores.
Over the last few weeks, the retail giant has been reviled by families for putting transgender clothes, books and greeting cards in its stores.
‘So the next time my seven-year-old comes to Target – or rather I can’t bring them here anymore, at least for the entire month of June – because if they walk in, and all the other people who walk in, and go: “Where did it go?” They’re going to realize that [critics] are being successful in trying to erase them.
‘We could do so much better than this,’ she emotionally continued. ‘We aren’t supposed to negotiate with the terrorists.’
In her caption, the Canadian actress said the retail company was giving ‘performative allyship’ and playing into the role the critics want.
She also said if it was a ‘security issue,’ that Target would be able to afford to hire ‘extra security, but instead they chose to send the message that LGBTQ+ people aren’t worth protecting or fighting for.’
After the backlash against the swimsuits, the company was forced to release a statement to insist the suits were only available in adult sizes.
‘Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,’ Target said.
‘Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,’ crisis communications manager Kayla Castaneda said.
The company did not specify which items had been taken off shelves. Many of the swimsuits, onesies and t-shirts that sparked outrage remain available online.
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