Earlier this week a parent went viral on social media after sharing a video of a Trolls doll her daughter was gifted for her birthday.
Hasbro’s Trolls World Tour Giggle and Sing Poppy initially seemed like a cute present, but on closer inspection the mum, Jamie Nelson Cornaby, became very concerned.
She soon realised that the toy had a feature which wasn’t mentioned on the box – there was a button between the doll’s legs on the ‘privates’.
In order to highlight her concern, Jamie filmed herself pressing the button, claiming when she did so it made “sexual sounds” like gasping.
In the clip, she says: “Touch her tummy and she makes little singing sounds and she’s super cute.
“I was showing her to my husband and I heard some other sounds that I’d never heard before and if you look, down here is a button, right here on her privates and if you push it she makes these sounds, like a gasping sound and I know some of you may not think this is a big deal, but this is wrong.”
She continued: “For one, it says nothing about this button on the box, nothing, it’s just there and it makes a gasping sound when you touch her privates and to me it’s just like sexual sounds and it’s so disturbing.”
The button isn’t mentioned in the Hasbro product descriptions for the Poppy doll, however, it does say: “When you sit her down, she makes other funny sounds, too!”
After seeing the video, fellow parent Jessica McManis decided to take action and launched a petition urging the manufacturer to stop selling the dolls.
More than 360,000 people have signed the petition, with many agreeing in the comments that the doll was “inappropriate” and “sick”.
Hasbro have since decided to pull the doll from sale.
Julie Duffy, the company’s senior vice president for global communications told CNN : “This feature was designed to react when the doll was seated, but we recognize the placement of the sensor may be perceived as inappropriate.
“This was not intentional, and we are happy to provide consumers with a replacement Poppy doll of similar value through our Consumer Care team. We are in the process of removing the item for purchase.”