Fox News complains about ‘gay Nutcracker’ Christmas decor at Target

Jesse Watters suggested that LGBTQ+ features on holiday decor is ‘sexualising Christmas for children’

Friday 17 November 2023 19:49 GMT

Fox News contributor compares Christmas tree burning to Pearl Harbor

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Fox News host Jesse Watters dedicated a portion of his show on Thursday evening to mock Target for selling inclusive versions of Santa and the soldier figure from “The Nutcracker” ballet.

Getting into holiday mode, Mr Watters went on a tangent about Target’s holiday collection that now features a Black Santa in a wheelchair and a Nutcracker doll holding a Pride flag.

“Gay Nutcracker and wheelchair Santa might be the only items in Target that don’t get looted,” Mr Watters jeered on Jesse Watters Primetime.

The host, joined by fellow right-winger Riley Gaines, went on to suggest that the holiday decor, which he insinuated was marketed toward youngsters, was “sexualizing Christmas for children” — a claim often used by conservatives to drive fear around LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

The pair went on to speculate that the retailer had an ulterior motive in promoting inclusive decorations.

“Why do they keep pushing this? Who are they trying to appeal to? Because despite what the media portrays or how politicians are voting this doesn’t represent the overwhelming majority of this country, really how the world, feels on this issue,” Ms Gaines said.

“We don’t have anything against Black Santa or disabled Santas; I think if Santa has a disability that’s fine but why do you think Target is selling this type of merch?” Mr Watters asked.

Ms Gaines responded by repeating a widely-shared anecdote that Target “banned” the word “Christmas” from its products in 2005 and prohibited employees from saying “Merry Christmas.”

Ms Gaines claimed the company did this because using the word Christmas “implied that the idea of Christ existed.”

While Target did reduce the word “Christmas” in its retailing marketing in 2005, the word was not banned from stores or employees, according to Snopes.

Another guest, Fox Business News reporter Madison Alworth, then said that Target could face a revenue decline due to their holiday line, similar to how Bud Light lost revenue after partnering with a transgender woman for a promotion campaign.