*We have no clue as to what the hell they were thinking in the first place, but Target officials have apologized for offering greeting cards with the phrase ?baby daddy? ahead of Father?s Day and are working to pull them from store shelves.
Yes, it’s what you’re most likely thinking, unfortunately: the cards show an African-American man and woman kissing under the words ?Baby Daddy.?
?You’re a wonderful husband and father and I’m so grateful to have you as my partner, my friend, and my baby daddy! Happy Father’s Day,? is what the card says on its inside.
Not that it matters, but the American Greetings card is not exclusive to Target, according to The Kansas City Star.
It first drew national attention when Takeisha Saunders posted a photo of the card on her Facebook page:
?You CANNOT be serious Target!!!! Really!!!?!!!!? This was the only Father?s Day card that featured a black couple!!!!!!? she wrote.
Sanders said she found the card at a Target location in Rockwall, Texas.
Saunders, who is black, told ABC News on Thursday that there were plenty of other cards she found less offensive, but they all featured white couples.
“There was no other option,” said Saunders. “My disappointment was that it was the only card that featured a black couple. There wasn’t any other black husband cards or anything like that. There were white husband cards with a couple on the front. There were ‘My dad’s my hero’ cards with characters on the front, but there wasn’t anything else.”
The card generated more backlash on Twitter and created a discussion about using the phrase – ?baby daddy.?
So this is what @Target thinks about black families, that we have baby daddy?s and not father, SMH, this is why we have to start pulling our resources because we have to separate, come in to UNITY , and help ourselves and own our own stores pic.twitter.com/oUi852Uy1b
? Taliah (@taliahpasha) June 12, 2018
Disappointed in @Target ?s decision to disgrace ALL FATHERS with their baby daddy cards. #FathersDay
? Nate (@nate_mcc) June 13, 2018
Thanks for sharing this with us. We assure you it is never our intention to offend our guests with the merchandise we provide. We sincerely apologize to anyone this particular card has offended. Please verify the store location this was displayed so we can share your feedback.
? AskTarget (@AskTarget) June 12, 2018
“We want all guests to feel welcomed and respected when they shop at Target. We were made aware of some concerns about this card last week and are working with our vendor to have it removed from Target stores,” Joshua Thomas, a spokesman for the chain, said in a statement to ABC News. “We appreciate the feedback and apologize. It’s never our intent to offend any of our guests with the products we sell.”
Patrice Molnar, a spokeswoman for American Greetings, which created the card and supplied it Target, told ABC News that the card was sold at about 5,300 drug stores, supermarkets and big-box chains, including Target.
“In this instance, this particular card was created for, and addressed to, a loving husband ?- which the inside copy makes clear,” Molnar told ABC News. “However, we now see that the front page, taken out of context, can communicate an unintentional meaning that we are strongly against perpetuating and is not consistent with our company purpose and values. We should do better in the future, and we will.
Target is pulling the card from about 900 stores, a spokesman told the Kansas City Star.
?We were made aware of some concerns about this card last week and are working with our vendor to remove it from Target stores,? a representative told Fox News. ?We appreciate the feedback and apologize. It?s never our intent to offend any of our guests with the products we sell.?
