Model who shot Bud Light cans puts the target in her sights

Model Bri Teresi has drawn her shotgun to vent her feelings about Target amid the retail giant condemned by the right for its support of the LGBTQ+ community.

The conservative influencer shared the viral video with her 2.5 million Instagram and Twitter followers combined on Tuesday. In the clip, Teresi takes aim at the famous big-box chain, saying, “Target, you put the kids in your sights and now you’ve become the target.”

Target, one of many companies criticized online by conservatives, is facing boycott threats over pro-LGBTQ+ marketing initiatives that included a Pride Month clothing line. The products sparked outrage from some social media users, who called for the chain to get “the Bud Light treatment”. The popular retailer has since slashed its Pride Month merchandise after saying its employees received threats over the items, the most controversial being “tuck-friendly” swimwear from the Pride collection.

In an email interview with Newsweek, Teresi explained why she was joining Target’s wave of backlash. Newsweek also emailed Target representatives for comment.

When asked what made her take aim at Target, Teresi said the company “indoctrinates and confuses” children.

“Life is quite confusing, especially for young teenagers,” she said. Newsweek. “They’re trying to normalize the transgender narrative. Target uses child models to sell ‘pride’ products and other sexualized items.”

Teresi also attacked Target’s decision to partner the Pride 2023 collection with designer Erik Carnell, owner of Abprallen, calling him a “satanic designer.” Carnell has been criticized for a small part of his collection, which refers to Satan. He defended the posts, which include a pin that reads ‘Satan respects pronouns’, saying they were meant to be ironic, according to The Washington Post. None of the “satanic” items were sold in Target’s 2023 Pride Month collection.

Teresi first went viral in April after sharing her own version of musician Kid Rock’s widely seen response to the Bud Light controversy. Her music video, which has garnered over 7 million views, shows the model filming Bud Light cans, tampons and lingerie. She hit out at Bud Light again this month when she accused the beer company of targeting children through its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Her anger at Bud Light is part of a right-wing wave that stemmed from early April when Mulvaney posted a video on social media showing a personalized Bud Light can with her face on it to celebrate her transition to becoming a woman. The personalized can has sparked an avalanche of criticism and calls to boycott the beer brand.

While donning an American flag bikini top and denim shorts in a viral social media clip from April that garnered millions of views, Teresi took aim at Honey Birdette lingerie, Tampax tampons and cans of Bud Light.

“These companies have all woken up”, she said on Twitter. “Tampax Tampons used a biological male to promote their tampons. Honey Birdette used a biological male to model their lingerie. And you all know Bud Light.”

Teresi said Newsweek that her involvement in right-wing boycotts began after Honey Birdette, for whom she previously modeled, decided “to use a biological man to model her lingerie”. After that, she said, she had to take a public stand because she felt it was “totally unnatural” but also took “job opportunities away from women”.

“These three brands haven’t reached out to me,” she said of Bud Light, Target and Honey Birdette. “But I can tell you that I had an impact.”

She said to Newsweek that her goal for her viral videos is to raise awareness and that she maintains that she is “not against the gay community”. On the contrary, she says, she protests against the “indoctrination and preparation” of minors.

“My goal with these videos is to raise awareness about pedophilia and the satanic agenda,” Teresi said. “I have a platform and I feel like I have to take a stand and use it for good.”

While the trend of right-wing condemnation of brands supporting the LGBTQ+ community has intensified in recent months, such corporate support has been common practice for decades. Many experts have said that such marketing campaigns allow brands to appeal to a variety of customers. But critics have argued that the companies are alienating their traditional customer base.

On Tuesday, Teresi weighed in on the Target controversy on her social media accounts, where she shared a video clip of her using Target bags for Target practice.

“Their target is children. Keep in mind @Target hired a designer for their ‘pride collection’ who is a real satanist,” she said. said on Twitter. “Go wake up. Go ruin yourself. #BoycottTarget.”

In a follow-up tweet, she shared a photo with the word “boycott” and the Target logo.

“Groomers have a target on children. @Target you put the kids in your sights and now you have become the Target! Go wake up, go ruin yourself! #BoycottTarget,” she said on Twitter.

The backlash from Target has gathered momentum in recent days. A song called Boycott objective released by Forgiato Blow, one of former President Donald Trump’s supporters, rose to the top of the iTunes charts. The track even topped Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus’ new songs on Tuesday morning.

Target, in an online statement, responded to the controversy. The retail giant said it has offered an “assortment of products to celebrate Pride Month” for more than a decade. The company said that given the current “volatile circumstances” and concerns for employee safety, some items from the Pride 2023 collection have been removed.