Make-up and hairdos on small girls may be controversial, but fake breasts and a hooker costume have some asking if Toddlers and Tiaras has gone too far. INSIDE EDITION has the scoop.
Toddlers & Tiaras continues to strike a nerve.
The cover of the new issue of People magazine, out Friday, asks if the hit TLC show has "gone too far?"
People magazine's Kate Coyne said, "Toddlers and Tiaras is a definite hit for the TLC network. Over two million people watch every episode. It's clear that people are tuning in to see what's going on in this strange world in childs' pageants."
The show recently sparked controversy when a mom dressed her 4-year-old in fake boobs, and a fake butt to look like Dolly Parton.
Just last week another mom dressed her 3-year-old daughter as the Julia Robert's hooker character from Pretty Woman.
People magazine asks whether these costumes are "cute or crazy?"
"What possessed you to dress your daughter up as a prostitute?" asked INSIDE EDITIONS Diane McInerney.
Mom Wendy Dickey, who dressed her daughter Paisley in the hooker outfit from Pretty Woman, told us she had no idea her daughter's costume would cause such an uproar.
"It was a really cute routine, I did not see any harm in it. Had I known that it would cause this much controversy I probably would not have done that," said Dickey.
"When you have three- and four- year-olds girls dressing up as prostitutes, wearing fake breasts, it leads to all sorts of very complicated and troubling questions about whether or not these girls are being sexualized at a very young age," said Coyne.
For the first time, People magazine shows the extreme measures it takes to transform a toddler into a beauty queen.
Little Madison Verst's moms says her wiglet costs $100, hair and makeup $250, and the dress alone costs $1,800.
It takes an average of three hours and a staggering $3,700 to get a toddler runway ready.
"Moms are spending tens of thousands of dollars on training, lessons, costumes, dresses, beauty supplies, all to help their little girls win," said Coyne.
