The “Feel Better Dolls” have been yanked from stores around New Jersey after customers and politicians began complaining they were racist.
It’s the doll that has received so much backlash, it was reportedly pulled from the shelves.
The “Feel Better Dolls” have been yanked from stores around New Jersey after customers and politicians began complaining they were racist.
The rag dolls are black, with hair made of red, green and yellow yarn. Some people suggested the dolls resemble blackface. The instructions stitched onto the doll encourage people to bang it against a wall and scream.
“Just grab it firmly by the legs and find a wall to slam the doll and as you whack the "feel good doll" do not forget to yell "I feel good. I feel good," the directions reportedly read.
In a statement, New Jersey assemblywoman Angela McKnight said she was disgusted when she saw the dolls at the One Dollar Zone in Bayonne, one of the districts she represents.
"Racism has no place in the world and I will not tolerate it, especially not in this district. When I saw the doll in person, I cringed and was truly disheartened by the thought of a black child being beaten by another child or an adult for pure pleasure. To have a product depict or teach children that it is OK to hit another child, regardless of race, in order to feel good is sick,” McKnight wrote.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis also weighed in, writing on the social media platform, "Aside from the shock of seeing such an insensitive product being sold in our community, I am grateful for the people that saw it and said something immediately!”
According to the New York Post, One Dollar Zone president Ricky Shah blamed the sale of the dolls in his stores on an oversight, saying a large shipment of “I Love NY” items was not thoroughly checked.
InsideEdition.com made repeated attempts to contact the doll’s manufacturer, the Harvey Hutter Co., by phone and online. It appears the New York-based company has gone out of business.
InsideEdition.com also reached out to supplier Global Souvenir Marketing but did not receive a response.
RELATED STORES
