Viola Davis isn’t buying Target’s apology over a Halloween costume that had been widely deemed racist. The “Woman King” actor shared an image of the costume, which Target has since removed from sale, on her Instagram Wednesday alongside a strongly worded statement condemning the retailer for permitting it in the first place. “Target, I do not accept your apology, and I do not believe that you understand the impact... the pain... the dehumanization of the above,” she wrote. “These images laid the foundation and the ideology for every atrocity that has been committed against my people.”“We MATTER!!” she continued. “You have shown us that you are not on OUR side.”By Friday afternoon, Davis’ post had received a plethora of supportive comments, with many fans applauding her remarks. “When they show you who they are believe them the first time,” one person wrote.Added another: “you tell em Viola...they knew what this was!!!”On Monday, Target announced it would no longer sell the costume, which was modeled by a Black child and had been described in stores and online as “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume.” Many people online said the photo of the child in the costume evoked racist imagery, including Blackface caricatures from Jim Crow-era minstrel shows.An apology from us: We pulled an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer for sale. As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.…— Target News (@TargetNews) August 24, 2026“An apology from us: We pulled an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer for sale,” the company wrote in a statement shared on its social media accounts. “As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.”“Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again,” the message concluded. Whether Target’s words will quell the backlash remains to be seen. In early 2025, the Minneapolis-based retailer joined Walmart and other major brands in scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts ― which had long been the subject of conservative criticism ― after President Donald Trump was re-elected for a second term. The company had previously cited the 2020 murder of George Floyd as a catalyst for its DEI initiatives.