A Trolls doll has been pulled from shelves after a disgusted mother shared a video of it making ‘sexual sounds’ when a button on its ‘privates’ is pressed.
The unnamed woman, from the US, explained how the Hasbro Trolls World Tour Giggle and Sing Poppy doll had been bought for her two-year-old daughter for her birthday.
But she was horrified when she discovered it made ‘gasping’ noises when a button between its legs was pressed and branded the toy ‘disturbing’.
The doll has now been removed from sale after another mother, Jessica McManis, started an online Change.org petition calling for it to be taken out of stores, accusing it of condoning pedophilia.
A Trolls doll has been pulled from shelves after a disgusted mother shared a video of it making ‘sexual sounds’ when a button on its ‘privates’ is pressed
Writing on the petition page, which has attracted 253,283 signatures, Jessica raged: ‘Our society is conditioning our children to think pedophilia is ok. This Trolls World Tour doll named Poppy has a button on her private area under her skirt.
‘When you push this button on the doll’s private she gasps and giggles. This is not okay for a child’s toy! This toy needs to be removed from our stores.
‘What will this toy make our innocent, impressionable children think? That it’s fun when someone touches your private area? That pedophilia and child molestation are ok? It’s not ok! It’s not fun! It’s damaging and has long term affects on a child’s mental/physical health!’
In the video, shared widely on Twitter after it was posted by US politician Sam Parker, the horrified mother demonstrates how the doll sings when a button on its tummy is pressed.
The mother was horrified when she discovered the doll bought for her two-year-old daughter made ‘gasping’ noises when a button between its legs was pressed – and branded the toy ‘disturbing’
But she was shocked when, while showing the ‘super cute’ doll to her husband, she discovered an additional button on the doll’s ‘private parts’ which was not mentioned on the box.
She explained: ‘I heard some other sounds that I had never heard before, and if you look, down here, I figured video was the best way… but down here is a button, right here on her privates, and if you push those she makes these sounds.
‘Like, a gasping sounds, and I know many of you might not think this is a big deal but, especially since I’ve had kids, this is wrong.
Mr Parker captioned the video in his tweet, which attracted more than 12,200 retweets and comments and 12,400 likes: ‘Is @Hasbro normalizing grooming and facilitating child abuse?’
‘This button, 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 sexual sounds. It’s so disturbing.’
Mr Parker captioned the video in his tweet, which attracted more than 12,200 retweets and comments and 12,400 likes: ‘Is @Hasbro normalizing grooming and facilitating child abuse?’
Hasbro, which is based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, revealed it is pulling the doll from shelves as soon as possible.
A spokesperson for the company, Julie Duffy, issued a statement to The Providence Journal in which she apologized to parents.
She said: ‘This feature was designed to react when the doll was seated, but we recognize the placement of the sensor may be perceived as inappropriate.
Hasbro, which is based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, revealed it is pulling the doll from shelves as soon as possible
‘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.’
The Trolls movie was released in 2016 and its sequel – Trolls World Tour – premiered in March this year. The character of Poppy is voiced by Anna Kendrick.
Speaking about the reaction to her petition, Ms McManus wrote in a thread containing the video: ‘I didn’t expect my petition to blow up like this! I’m so happy it did! They recalled the doll today.’
She added: ‘There’s no way someone at Hasbro didn’t think that it was weird when deciding to create this doll like that.’