MSNBC’s Morning Joe kicked off Pride Month on Thursday by welcoming GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis on to repeat debunked hoaxes about how conservatives are targeting Target with bomb threats.
Co-host Willie Geist asked Ellis about the situation surrounding Target, “Let's start there and your reaction to not just the rhetoric we're seeing against Target, but the decision by Target then to sort of cave a little bit and remove some of that Pride merchandise.”
Ellis began by insisting that people “add the word ‘extremist’ to all of this” because “Target has had a display for years, decades probably, at least ten years, for Pride and so this year now, they are targeting these folks.”
Additionally, Ellis claimed, “What’s interesting, though, and often horrifying, is that they're using violence. This is not ‘let's boycott. Here's a sign-on letter.’ This is AK-15s. This is, we're coming to destroy the store. This is bomb threats.”
Those Target bomb threats were initially reported to be crazed right-wingers then it was reported they were left-wingers upset that Target caved before ultimately being revealed to be an overseas hoax and nobody’s shot up a Target with an AK-15 or an AR-15 or an AK-47 or whatever other letters and numbers Ellis throws together over Pride merchandise. As for AK-15s specifically, they are used by the Russian military and are banned in the U.S.
Of course, nobody at MSNBC jumped into correct the record. After Ellis went into some polling her organization did that showed 70 percent of Americans “feel that corporates should sponsor LGBTQ moments and events and should include LGBTQ folks in their advertising.”
Politico White House Bureau Chief Jonathan Lemire would circle back to the idea that conservatives are all bunch of deranged lunatics, “the threat of violence you mentioned, the anti-trans rhetoric and in some cases legislation that we're all sort of seeing at once, I was speaking to a couple members of the LGBTQ community in the last couple of days who say they entered this Pride Month with a sense of real fear.”
Amid “the possibility of guns,” Lemire then invited Ellis to “Talk to us about how you and your organization are feeling right now as we head into this month with this as the backdrop.”
Again citing herself as an authoritative source, Ellis claimed “we’ve recorded 160 threats of violence or actual acts of violence against LGBTQ specific events. So there is this looming fear and threat around our community.”
The fact that people don’t want men on women’s sports teams or schools teaching their kids about sex acts, means that for Ellis, “I think, today and America is more dangerous than ever. I mean, if we look at the school shootings and what's going on in this country. So, if you're a marginalized community who is often used to know your place in society through fear and violence, this is not a great moment for us.”
Do those 160 threats include the aforementioned overseas hoaxes? Nobody at Morning Joe dared to ask.
This segment was sponsored by Nutrisystem.
Here is a transcript for the June 1 show:
MSNBC Morning Joe
6/1/2023
7:25 AM ET
WILLIE GEIST: Let's start there and your reaction to not just the rhetoric we're seeing against Target, but the decision by Target then to sort of cave a little bit and remove some of that Pride merchandise.
SARAH KATE ELLIS: Yeah, I think what's really important is to add the word "extremist" to all of this. This is a minority voice that has a loud megaphone right now and as Target, they've said it, they've laid out their playbook. They want to make Pride toxic. Which is supposed to be a celebration of our community and a lifting up of our community. They are trying to poison the waters and what they’re doing-- Target has had a display for years, decades probably, at least ten years, for Pride and so this year now, they are targeting these folks.
What’s interesting, though, and often horrifying, is that they're using violence. This is not “let's boycott. Here's a sign-on letter.” This is AK-15s. This is, we're coming to destroy the store. This is bomb threats. So, it’s at an increased level of intensity and I think one of the things that's really interesting on this first day of Pride is a report that we're actually breaking with you, releasing first with you, 70 percent of Americans feel that corporates should sponsor LGBTQ moments and events and should include LGBTQ folks in their advertising.
This is not the majority of Americans. That's what is really important to focus on in this conversation. Because we're giving a big megaphone to a small group of people. In terms of Target's response, I can't say I'm happy with it. I think if you back down to bullies, you give them more energy and so I think that Target and these other companies need to step up and you've seen companies who have, they've gone after them, Nike, North Face, and they said, "no way, we're sticking with our values. We believe in this, and we are moving forward" and they've backed down. So, that's really important to keep in mind, as well.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: So, Sarah Kate, you know, the corporate boycotts, the threat of violence you mentioned, the anti-trans rhetoric and in some cases legislation that we're all sort of seeing at once, I was speaking to a couple members of the LGBTQ community in the last couple of days who say they entered this Pride Month with a sense of real fear.
They worry that a time that is meant to be so celebratory actually could be dangerous. They suggested they'd be concerned about going to some Pride events because they're afraid of what could happen and you mentioned the possibility of guns. Talk to us about how you and your organization are feeling right now as we head into this month with this as the backdrop.
ELLIS: Yeah, I think there have been over 500 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed. At GLAAD, we’ve recorded 160 threats of violence or actual acts of violence against LGBTQ specific events. So there is this looming fear and threat around our community. It's always existed. It's amped up more than ever, I think, today and America is more dangerous than ever. I mean, if we look at the school shootings and what's going on in this country. So, if you're a marginalized community who is often used to know your place in society through fear and violence, this is not a great moment for us.
