Singer Baby Storme has blasted Target and branded one of the company’s employees as “racist” after she and a group of dancers were interrupted from filming a music video.
On Sunday, Baby Storme, who is Black, posted a video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, of her dancing inside a Target store.
“This racist target employee called the police on us for dancing in Target... So we danced anyway,” she wrote.
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In the accompanying video, Baby Storme, wearing a light pink lace outfit, moves in sync to the zombie-inspired choreography of her song “This City Is a Graveyard” with other dancers of various races and ethnicities. But in the middle of the routine, two men step in front of the camera, blocking the view of the dancers.
“We’re gonna have to call the cops on you guys,” one of the men says, explaining that the seemingly impromptu music video has become a safety hazard.
“Hey! If we all just start and multiple people record, they can’t block everyone,” someone with the music video crew says to the others.
So, once again, filming begins with the group of dancers, dressed mostly in black, marching like zombies near Target’s checkout aisles. One of the men attempts to block the dancers from moving forward, but they press on and shout the lyrics of the song.
“Can you please move?” a crew member filming yells at the man.
“I was so excited for us to film a quick flash mob at Target. But before we even walked through the door, this employee called the police on us for being on the property,” Baby Storme captioned the video that was also uploaded to YouTube. “At first he said we couldn't film. But when we stopped filming, he still continued to kick us out.
“So, we made the most of what we could. I couldn't even remember the dance I came up with. This moment for me was one that I really can not describe. I tried to keep it together, but all I could focus on was all the beautiful brown faces I was able to bring together. That were able to stand in solidarity today. This is everything I stand for,” Baby Storme wrote.
Despite the singer’s accusations of racism, many people on social media were quick to throw cold water on Baby Storme’s fiery claims.
“What racism? You are on private property which means Target is well within their rights to kick your entitled behinds to the curb,” a Twitter user commented under the video. “Stop using cries of racism to excuse this nonsense.”
“You’re doing a disservice to those with genuine grievances against racism,” another Twitter user wrote.
“For some reason people have forgotten that even though a business is ‘open to the public’, it's still a private business,” a Reddit user wrote. “They have every right to throw your ass out.”
“I’m black where was this racist?” a user on YouTube wrote. “You’re disturbing an entire store without permission and when security does their job ( where they were extremely courteous ) they get labeled as racists? I’m extremely disappointed.. please do better. This was completely disrespectful to someone’s business.”
“I love how this is going viral NOT because of racism, but because of your incredible sense of entitlement,” another YouTuber commented.
“Thats a big stretch Storme,” an Instagram user commented under the video. “I know we have it rough out here, but please don’t over-use that word. Its only going to make us lose legitimacy when there are ACTUAL racist situations.”
According to Target’s solicitation policy, the company “restricts the use of its parking lots and facilities to business use only.”
“Individuals not employed by Target or by a vendor providing services to Target are prohibited from soliciting, distributing literature, selling merchandise or holding events at all times anywhere on Target-owned property or leased property when Target has a right to exclude, including parking lots and sidewalks,” the policy states. “Target firmly believes that our guests should enjoy a distraction-free shopping experience in our stores.”
Target did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Tuesday. The Daily Beast has also reached out to Baby Storme for comment.
