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Gay News: Lady Gaga has pulled out of a major deal with a US retailer over the company's poor record on supporting gay rights
Lady Gaga
Gaga cancels deal over gay rights
The singer cancelled the marketing deal with Target, over their support of right-wing organisations perceived to be anti-gay and opposed to gay marriage.
It comes shortly before Target was to release an exclusive edition of her forthcoming album Born This Way.
A spokesman for Lady Gaga said that the singer and Target came to a mutual decision to end their overall partnership a few weeks ago.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, Lady Gaga had said that part of her deal with Target was that they had to start affiliating themselves with LGTB charity groups.
This followed earlier criticism of Target who had donated $150,000 to MN Forward, a lobby group which supports opponents of gay marriage.
Although Target claims it now actively supports gay organisations, it could not guarantee that it would not continue to donate money to anti-gay groups
In a statement to the New York Times, the retailer said: “We were very surprised and disappointed by the statements made by Lady Gaga’s organisation related to her partnership with Target.
“Target remains committed to the LGBT community as demonstrated by our contributions to various LGBT organisations, our recently established Policy Committee to review our political giving and our respectful, inclusive workplace environment.”
Lady Gaga’s new album Born This Way is released on 23 May. Elton John has described the title track as “the new gay anthem”.
