My family and I have never heard of this company.

— DGM_Alex (@acl163) November 5, 2014

I didn't know the pic was taken or tweeted until my store manager showed me.

— DGM_Alex (@acl163) November 5, 2014

Lee has only worked at Target for three months, and went from 144 Twitter followers to 590,000 in days, according to an interview taped Tuesday that will air on “The Ellen Degeneres Show” this afternoon.

\"PHOTO:
Michael Rozman/Warner Bros
PHOTO: Alex Lee appears on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Nov. 5, 2014.
>

Target says it is not affiliated with Breakr or the creation or distribution of the photo.

\"PHOTO:
Michael Rozman/Warner Bros
PHOTO: Alex Lee appears on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Nov. 5, 2014.
>
\"PHOTO:
Michael Rozman/Warner Bros
PHOTO: Alex Lee arrives on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Nov. 5, 2014.
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