Jay-Z Faces Backlash For Partnering With Target Amid Boycott

Jay-Z has a new deal with Target amid the ongoing Target boycott.

In 2020, Target announced a press release to create new programs to advance, retain, and increase the representation of Black team members across the company by 20% over three years, and spend more than $2 billion on partnerships with Black-owned businesses, which included adding products from 500 Black-owned vendors.

Finally, a retail company had made it seem as if they saw Black people and cared about the community, but that was all short-lived. 

In late January of 2025, Target scaled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. After achieving its three-year DEI goals, the company shifted its focus to the “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy to advance community engagement and business results.

However, that strategy backfired. Target sales dropped, with revenue down 1.7% to $74.3 billion through the third quarter, net earnings down 11% to $ 3 billion, and its stock price dropping around 30%, according to Forbes.

Target faced a 40-day “Target Fast” boycott led by activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and others in response to the company’s shift from DEI policies. This was a year-long project, concluding in March of 2026. While the movement has officially ended due to “productive” conversations with the company’s new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, for some, the Target boycott is not over, and it may never be.

As Armstrong has infamously stated, “it doesn’t end until the people that started it end it.”

Now, as criticism continues over Target’s relationship with Black consumers, Jay-Z has entered the chat through a new partnership with the retailer. Jay-Z is releasing his 30th anniversary album, “Reasonable Doubt,” exclusively at Target.

Many consumers feel Jay-Z’s involvement is an attempt to bring shoppers back to Target and undermine the boycott, prioritizing a corporate deal over community and accountability.

“Every time something like this happens, every step of the way, it seems like the thing that is bringing us together is also the thing that is taking us right on it,” said Dr. Kaye on her podcast, Today with Dr.Kaye. “We had something going on, and we were all standing together.”

Jay-Z’s decision does not come as a surprise to many, as this is also not the first time Jay-Z has interrupted a movement within the Black community.

Back in 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback, took a knee during the national anthem in protest against police brutality against people of color in the United States, sparking a massive national debate. Jay-Z joined the NFL and used entertainment to deflect the seriousness of what Kaepernick and many others were standing for.

“This is not Jay-Z’s first foray into choosing capitalism over a movement for the people,” said Armstrong on Today with Dr.Kaye.

Jay-Z already has enough money and resources, and a boycott against Target would not impact him financially. Therefore, raising a larger question about Jay-Z’s role in his partnership with Target. Is Jay-Z an ally or does he prioritize corporate and commercial interests?