Pastor Jamal Bryant reacts to viral video of Rick Ross shopping in Target: ‘Be the BOSS not the pawn’

Pastor Jamal Bryant launched the 40-day “Target Fast” in March that has since grown into an ongoing effort.

If you dare to shop at Target during the ongoing boycott, you may have to answer to Pastor Jamal Bryant.  

After Rick Ross uploaded footage from a recent trip to the retailer with his new flame—model Jazzma Kendrick—to social media, the 54-year-old Atlanta-based pastor hopped online, imploring the 49-year-old rapper not to become a “pawn.” 

In the video circulating online, Ross and Kendrick enjoy a mundane but amusing little trip to the big box giant as Ross playfully jokes that he’s been “kidnapped.” At one point, Ross asks Kendrick what they’re shopping for—she notes kitchen gear and ingredients to make cinnamon rolls. 

“The Cinnabons reeled me in, guys, but as you can see, I’ve been kidnapped,” he teasingly replied. 

The two are all smiles as they frolic up and down the aisles gleefully, leading many online to question the timing and accuse them of being tone deaf amid the widespread boycott of Target that launched in response to their rollback of their DEI initiatives—including Bryant. 

“Hey family, [Rick Ross], you are an incredibly influential figure for the culture who many aspire to emulate,” Bryant began in the caption of a post that reshared Ross’ footage.  

He continued, “To that end, I thought it important to share with you that the community has been boycotting Target because of their disregard for our value and a disrespect for the dollars we spend. As a businessman, you are acutely and intimately aware of community relationships with the consumer.” 

Bryant pointed Ross to the Target boycott’s official website, targetfast.org, inviting him to learn exactly what it entails. 

He added, “Don’t let them divide us! When we as a whole understand our economic strength and the power of unity, 63 years after the March on Washington, every day we shouldn’t be hustling. Respectfully, be the BOSS not the pawn!”

Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia and a community organizer, launched a 40-day “Target Fast” during the month of Lent that has since grown to an ongoing widespread boycott after the company rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments. Bryant has demanded that the retailer reinvest in Black banks, historically Black colleges and universities, and Black communities, as well as honor the pledges it made in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. 

In recent months, he has held other celebrities accountable for undermining the movement, including Cardi B, who shared a recent Target shopping trip with her children.

So far, the boycott has had measurable consequences. According to recent reports, Target has lost millions of dollars in sales this year, and some reshuffling at the top has begun.