Kai Cenat Facing Backlash For Partnering w/ Target Amid Ongoing DEI Boycott

Popular streamer Kai Cenat is catching heat online after teaming up with Target to debut his new personal care brand, Tone, all amid ongoing boycotts over the retailer’s rollback of DEI initiatives.

via: HotNewHipHop

Kai Cenat is facing backlash on social media for teaming up with Target for the release of a new personal care brand, TONE, in the department store chain. In celebration of the move, the live streamer and the AMP collective hosted a “sleepover” inside a Target location over the weekend.

Many shoppers have been boycotting Target in response to the company's decision to cutback it's DEI programs.

Kai Cenat is facing backlash on social media for teaming up with Target for the release of a new personal care brand, TONE, in the department store chain. In celebration of the move, the live streamer and the AMP collective hosted a “sleepover” inside a Target location over the weekend.

As clips of the group racing around the store circulated online, fans complained about the stream. "Target trying so hard to get black people back in stores without hardcore apologizing. They let Kai and AMP have a sleepover in the store. Idc how many influencers they pay, still not shopping there," one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Another hopped in the comments section of a post from The Neighborhood Talk to add: "The moment y’all realize these rich celebrities don’t care about poor and working-class folks, the less triggered you’ll be. As long as they stay at the top, what happens to the bottom don’t concern them."

As for TONE, Cenat explained his inspiration for the brand in a press release for Target. "We really saw a gap in the shelves for a new brand to break through — and for a brand that is fresh and represents who we and our community are. Products that don't just look good but actually work and smell great," he said. The line features a total of 16 products, including deodorant, body wash, and more.

Kai Cenat isn't the first celebrity to face backlash for shopping at Target. Earlier this year, Cardi B came under fire for posting a picture of herself with her family at the store.

Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, even used her platform to condemn people shopping at Target in a post on social media back in January. “So y’all bowed down and kissed the ring, huh? Crossing you off my list! No more Target!” she wrote at the time.