Lady Gaga claims record deal with Target Corp. included support for LGBT charities
“That discussion was one of the most intense conversations I’ve ever had in a business meeting…. 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 groups.”
Lady Gaga talking with Billboard about her affiliation with retailer Target Corp. (Billboard)
Her latest single “Born this Way” was offered for free to people who pre-ordered her album through Target’s website. The promotion raised catcalls online from a few alleged gay rights supporters. Some gay shoppers were indeed bothered last summer by Target’s indirect donation of cash and services to anti-gay conservatives like former Minnesota Gov. Tom Emmer (R).
Billboard’s Executive Director Bill Werde also spoke with Dustee Tucker Jenkins, the Vice President of Public Relations for Target Corp. In the Billboard.biz interview Werde pushed a number of times for details on what Target is doing in terms of corporate donations — whether more money is going to support socially conservative, business-friendly politicians than to supporting community groups. Jenkins said a panel has been instituted to review these types of donations, but could not say that Target would never again contribute funds to politicians who may be against gay rights.
Regarding the LGBT community and Lady Gaga’s statement, Jenkins said this:
”What I would say is we very much appreciated the conversation and the dialogue with [Lady Gaga] and her team all along the way. They’ve been a wonderful partner in this and they certainly shared their feedback; they engage with us on a variety of different issues which she personally has concerns or has feedback that she wants to share with us so we very much appreciated that entire process. Certainly we have shared with them what I shared with you and that is that we have already committed to almost half a million dollars for 2011 to various organizations so some of those are national like Out and Equal Workplace, Twin Cities Pride is a local group, Project 515 is local, so we shared that with her as well. None of that is new for Target. If you look back at the company’s long history, promoting inclusivity is what we have done from the very beginning….
Read Next”[As] we’ve conducted a review of our process, as we’ve looked overall at our support of the LGBT community, certainly her perspective was very helpful in conversations. But we’ve considered a variety of different perspectives along the way, and that’s gotten us to where we are today. I would just say, in closing, we’re really excited to partner with her. Music is a clear part of who we are at Target; it’s a big part of our brand, and we’ve worked with so many different artists.”
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
