Target’s leftist activism is apparently coming back to bite the company in the form of a lawsuit.
Shareholders have accused the company of misleading investors about the risks of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Fox Business reported on Wednesday, stating that a class action lawsuit was leveled against Target on Friday.
Last month, Target recently backpedaled on its DEI programs, chalking up the change to “staying in step with the evolving external landscape.”
The Fox report continued:
The class action suit, led by the City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund, alleges that Target misused investor funds for “political and social goals,” and duped investors into buying stock at “artificially inflated prices.” The suit claims that Target made fraudulent public statements regarding the board overseeing the risks of its DEI initiatives, and the executives and board misled investors about the risks those programs posed.
The company’s stock price took a significant dive in November after controversy regarding its DEI and Pride initiatives. In May, Target rolled back its LGBTQ-themed merchandise for “Pride Month” in the wake of heavy criticism, per Breitbart News.
Video footage shows the items such as “tuck-friendly” bathing suits for transgenders and others that read “Satan Respects Pronouns”:
“The lawsuit claims that Target’s board only oversaw the risks of not adopting DEI and ESG initiatives, and was only concerned with backlash from the left,” the Fox report said:
Target allegedly had executives implement their DEI initiatives who had “disabling” conflicts of interest. Senior executive Carlos Saavedra and Vice President and Chief Food and Beverage Officer Rick Gomez both held positions at the LGBTQ rights organization GLSEN. The lawsuit alleges that these roles imposed “conflicting duties” on the executives.
In June, Scott Shepard, the general counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research, told Breitbart News Daily that conservatives were gearing up to use shareholder activism against Target.
