| This week's can't-miss news: Pride month is often a time of celebration. Yet this time around, US brands are mindful of a backlash that has already begun. Kohl's, Target and The North Face have faced calls for boycotts from anti-LGBTQ groups after they unveiled their Pride campaigns. Of those retailers, Target removed some LBGTQ-themed merchandise from its store shelves, saying it wanted to protect employees after "confrontational behavior" by customers that included displays being destroyed. The Los Angeles Dodgers meanwhile disinvited a LGBTQ advocacy group from its upcoming Pride night celebration after a bishop accused it of mocking Catholicism — but then re-invited them once other organizations dropped out in solidarity. And Anheuser Busch InBev is still weathering calls from conservatives to boycott its Bud Light brand after it partnered with TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney for an unrelated March Madness promotion in April. Pride collections in stores as accessible as Target can serve as an entry point for representation, and shoppers often seek out merchandise and rainbow-hued clothing to wear to Pride events across the world. Yet the tensions this year have reflected growing anti-LGBTQ resistance; in the political sphere, US Republican lawmakers have introduced at least 491 anti-LGBTQ bills and passed 62 of them into law. Even something as innocuous as a Pride-themed coffee mug can be a lightning rod for conservative outcry — and LGBTQ groups are paying attention to the response. "Companies need to walk the walk with this community," said Dan Dimant, the media director at NYC Pride, the nonprofit that produces the annual Pride march in New York City. "The public will find out and the public will hold them accountable. It's no longer a free cash grab." Brands with Pride campaigns have mobilized in different ways. The North Face turned comments off the Instagram posts announcing their second-annual Summer of Pride partnership with the drag queen Pattie Gonia, and in a statement said it stands by the effort to build "a more inclusive outdoor community." The retailer Abercrombie & Fitch unveiled a campaign that says that Pride is year-round, and Macy's said it is committed to its Pride campaigns. Both also made donations to The Trevor Project, a mental-health nonprofit that focuses on LGBTQ youth. For its part, Target is still listed as a "platinum" sponsor for NYC Pride, whose marquee events occur June 22-25 in New York City. (Some nonprofits observe their official Pride in October, given that National Coming Out Day is Oct. 11) Sticking by the campaigns and their LGBTQ consumers may also help companies prove that their efforts are more than corporate pinkwashing. "These corporations are really, really powerful," said Motti, a social media and communications lead at the LGBTQ-owned clothing company For Them. "They have a lot of sway, and they need to be able to put their hand up and say, 'This is what we believe in. This is what we want to do.'" | 
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