March 10, 2011 2:29 PM
Target/Lady GaGa deal - dead on arrival
A couple readers alerted me last week to a pending deal between Lady Gaga and Target, which was supposed to have a family-favorite chain bending to the pro-GLBT will of the Madonna-wannabe. One reader said she would not shop at Target anymore.Not sure why, but I passed on the story. Now I'm glad - and very happy to report tht no one has to even consider breaking up with Tar-Zha because the deal went kaplooey (Maybe Target didn't know what it was about to agree to? Maybe Lady Gaga overplayed her hand? Maybe reality set in?)
A Bad Romance? Lady Gaga ends major deal with Target over 'inadequate support for gay rights'
By Tamara Abraham
Last updated at 3:55 PM on 10th March 2011
Lady Gaga has pulled the plug on a lucrative marketing deal with major U.S. retailer Target, just weeks before an exclusive version of her new album, Born This Way, was to hit stores.
The singer's decision is said to be based on the company's failure to renounce its support for politicians that oppose gay rights.
It comes after her fans questioned the deal, announced last month, given Target's $150,000 corporate donation last year to MN Forward, a group that supported Minnesota governor hopeful Tom Emmer, who opposes same-sex marriage.
In an interview with Billboard last month, the star, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, said that the Target deal was dependent on the company changing its position on gay issues.
She explained: 'Part of my deal with Target is that they have to start affiliating themselves with LGTB charity groups, and begin to reform and make amends for the mistakes they've made in the past.'
And though Target says it has actively supported pro-gay organisations, including Project 515, a campaign group for same-sex marriage in Minnesota, it did not renounce its past financial support for MN Forward.
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