Target has disputed the claim that it will ban Mark Levin’s upcoming book after the conservative author and commentator announced he was told it would not be sold in the retail giant’s stores.
The company courted some controversy in May and June after it prominently displayed LGBT “pride” merchandise in stores.
Target also briefly partnered with a trans company before ending the relationship amid a public pressure campaign.
On Wednesday, Levin posted that his upcoming book “The Democrat Party Hates America” would be blocked from shelves because the company found the name offensive.
“Target has informed my publisher, Simon & Schuster, that it will not carry my new book when it is released on September 19,” Levin tweeted.
He continued, “It claims that certain customers might be offended by the title. Imagine that! So, the corporatist left-wing censorship begins.”
In a follow-up post, Levin encouraged people interested in ordering the book to do so online.
“Target will not carry THE DEMOCRAT PARTY HATES AMERICA because it might offend Democrats. Pathetic. You can go to [Amazon] and order directly, without going through Democrat-Party corporatists,” Levin wrote.
He concluded, “I want to thank Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Books-A-Million for order copies upon the book’s release.”
Target was blasted online for censorship:
The Western Journal reached out to Target about the apparent act of censorship and received a response.
The company said it was concerned about the word “hate” in the book’s title but also claimed it was never banned.
Target’s full statement reads:
“We’ve been offering this book for pre-sale since mid-June. As we have with Mark Levin’s past books, many of which are currently available for sale at Target, we’ll offer his newest title for sale when it is available on September 19.
The use of the word ‘hate’ in the title caused our team to reach out to the publisher, but as stated, we are continuing to offer this book for pre-sale now and it will be available for sale on its release date. We regret any confusion this situation caused.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.