Lady Gaga Ends Target Deluxe Edition Partnership

Well, that was over before it started, as E! Online reports that Lady Gaga and Target have ended their planned partnership for the retailer to exclusively carry the deluxe edition of ‘Born This Way,’ which would include extra songs. Lady Gaga apparently pulled out because she doesn't agree with the mass marketer's corporate policy pertaining to political donations and their overall impact on the gay community, which constitutes a good portion of the pop star's fan base.

"Lady Gaga and Target came to a mutual decision to end their overall exclusive partnership a few weeks ago," a Gaga spokesperson told E! It's not surprising, since many people were confused by Gaga's decision to partner with Target since the company had donated funds to anti-gay politician Tom Emmer. Gaga did say that she was convinced to initially move forward with the deluxe edition to be sold via Target after a face-to-face meeting with company executives.

"Part of my deal with Target is that they have to start affiliating themselves with LGBT charity groups and begin to reform and make amends for the mistakes they've made in the past ... Our relationship is hinged upon their reform in the company to support the gay community and to redeem the mistakes they've made supporting those groups,” Gaga told Billboard at the time the partnership was announced.

It was initially unclear what actually happened to cause this deal to be canceled. However, sources say the retail giant wasn't committed to some of Gaga's terms when it came to its donation policies and anti-gay politicians.

Target, like any big name corporation, issued its own response to the split with Gaga, according to The New York Times, stating: "We were very surprised and disappointed by the statements made by Lady Gaga's organization related to her partnership with Target. Target remains committed to the LGBT community as demonstrated by our contributions to various LGBT organizations, our recently established Policy Committee to review our political giving and our respectful, inclusive workplace environment."

'Born This Way' is due out May 23.