Another week, another … kids' toy controversy? It certainly seems that way lately. Last week, the internet erupted over a Trolls doll from Hasbro, which had some seriously seriously questionable button placement. After critics said that it normalized sexual assault, the toys were promptly pulled from store shelves and discontinued. But now, parents are up in arms about another popular toy, after one mom's viral video exposes an "inappropriate feature" of LOL Surprise Dolls.
Hilary Williams posted the video Wednesday on Facebook.
In it, she explained that she recently saw another video online, which showed that once an LOL Surprise Doll was dipped into cold water, very revealing lingerie started to appear on its body. But knowing that internet hoaxes and conspiracy theories are rampant these days, Williams decided to see for herself if it was for real.
So, she grabbed a few of her daughter's LOL Surprise Dolls, set up a bowl of ice cold water, and pressed record on her phone. Moments later, she was in shock.
Mere seconds after dipping a doll into the water, Williams saw some rather scandalous-looking lingerie appear.
The doll, who had been unclothed when Williams dunked it in the water, now appeared to be wearing what can only be described as a black dominatrix-style getup. (Not exactly PG stuff.)
"You guys," Williams said, as she gasped. "OMG, are you serious? You guys see this? This is not fake, k?"
Just to make sure this wasn't an isolated incident, Williams decides to dunk another one and see what that reveals.
She picked up another unclothed LOL Doll, which has fishnet stockings on its legs. After placing it in the water, she gasped again.
"Look at this, do you see that?" she asked. "It's a little devil tail!"
The doll does, in fact, have a small "devil" tail lower back tattoo that appears seemingly out of nowhere.
One by one, Williams continues to dunk more LOL Dolls, and each time she is floored by what she sees.
"My daughter is 6 years old," she said at one point. "This is not okay."
She went on to call the dolls "inappropriate" and expressed concern that she — and millions of other parents — are buying these dolls for their young kids without knowing about the hidden feature.
In the comments, other parents also were shocked.
"Wow those dolls are way too much," wrote one mom.
"This is super screwed up," added another person.
"Throwing my daughter's LOL [Dolls] away," someone else declared.
Even people who weren't parents were kind of horrified.
"I'm so scared to have and raise a child these days," wrote one man. "There's just too much bad targeted at them I can't stand it."
Still, there were plenty of others who didn't see what the big deal was.
"Those toys are cute," wrote one person.
"Get a life," commented another, who accused Williams of "trying to make it more than it is."
Others said they tried this at home themselves and didn't see the color-changing feature.
"I tried the ice water my daughter has several nothing happened so … yeah don't believe everything you see," one person shared.
However, at least a few parents said they did try it at home and they got the same results.
"This is true," one mom wrote. "We just verified."
"Yes! Raunchy little dolls lol my daughter loves them," another mom said. "Tramp stamps and all… a lot of them pee and spit too. Some change in warm water too … very disturbing."
"My daughter figured this out on her own," another commenter added. "It comes in the directions, with pictures, so kids can easily access/understand it. Subliminal messaging at its finest. I thought the plastic wrapping was bad enough, let alone this!"
Oddly enough, this isn't the first time these dolls have been called out for being "inappropriate."
Last year, an anonymous parent shared a photo of their child's LOL Doll on Reddit — and was equally stunned.
"[This is ] my 3-year-old's LOL Surprise doll she got for Christmas," the poster explained. "When you dip her in cold water her 'secret spy outfit' shows up. AKA secret lingerie. And for whatever reason the nipples become extremely visible. The leopard print skimpy outfit she came with also makes her look like a hooker."
MGA Entertainment, which manufactures the dolls, also came under fire last year for another "surprising" feature.
According to one parent, who called out the brand on Facebook, several boy versions of the dolls were deemed "inappropriate and obscene for small children especially girls as they are anatomically correct with no warning on the packaging."
In other words: They had small penises between their legs, which a lot of parents didn't think was necessary. However, the brand responded by explaining the reasoning behind it:
"The feature was meant to be thoughtful and reflective of real life, but designed in a kid appropriate way," the company wrote in a response to the poster.
As for this latest controversy, MGA Entertainment has yet to respond publicly.
At least one Facebook user, however, pointed out that the "secret" outfits shouldn't actually be a surprise, writing that it's clearly mentioned in the instructions for certain color-changing dolls.
That said, a lot of parents aren't sure why the manufacturer felt the need to put the dolls in secret outfits that are arguably provocative — particularly when they feature things such as bras, stirrups, and lower back tattoos.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
