American Greetings faces backlash
Target pulls “Baby Daddy” cards from shelves.
American Greetings is apologizing for a Father’s Day card that depicts a black couple overlaid with the phrase “Baby Daddy.”
Customers took to social media to complain about the card, terming it racially insensitive.
The phrase “Baby Daddy” is “not sweet or nice,” wrote Dallas-based Facebook user Takeisha Saunders, one of the first customers to complain about the card. “It’s a term used to describe a deadbeat or absent parent. Yeah it’s sweet on the inside, but whomever created this card doesn’t know what it means.”
The greeting card company said it would stop selling the card at all retailers. Target, the giant discount-store chain, proactively pulled the card from its shelves.
The card showed the couple overlaid and the words “Baby Daddy” on the cover, and “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” on the inside.
“This particular card was created for, and addressed to, a loving husband — which the inside copy makes clear,” American Greetings said in a statement. “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.”
It went on to say it will do “better in the future,” that it has pulled the card and that it wants to “apologize for any offense we’ve caused.”
Target, which was selling the card at about half of its more than 1,800 stores, had already decided to remove the card after noticing complaints on social media.
“We want all guests to feel welcomed and respected when they shop at Target,” company spokesperson Joshua Thomas said in a statement. “We were made aware of some concerns about this card last week. ... It’s never our intent to offend any of our guests with the products we sell.”