The company that owns Barbie has come under fire over their “offensive” line of Olympic dolls.
To celebrate the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Barbie has released an “inclusive” line of Olympic-inspired dolls only for its parent company, Mattel, to face backlash over the “tone deaf” outcome.
“Barbie is committed to empowering girls to participate in sports by capturing the fun and friendship of the season, and inspiring kids to find the athlete within,” the company wrote as they released pictures of their “inclusive” Olympic dolls line.
Soon after, social media users sparked a heated debate whereas many called out the company over their “epic fail.” Can you figure out what enraged the internet users?
After photos of the new dolls line went viral, people accused Barbie of racism for allegedly not including Asian athletes in the line.
“According to Mattel you can be anything but ASIAN if you want to be included. The Olympics is literally happening in Asia. An Asian countr[y] has the most gold medals. An Asian-American won gold in one of the biggest and most popular events. Talk about tone deaf. Do much better!” one angry user wrote.
“Where is the Asian Barbie?! Shame on you! It’s TOKYO for heavens sake,” another one raged.
The third said: “EPIC FAIL. What happen to being inclusive. Where is the Asian Barbie?!?!? You are part of the problem. The Olympics is happening in Tokyo.”
While many critics slammed the company for failing to represent the majority of the world’s population in their new line of dolls, some people ran to Barbie’s defense saying that the skateboarder Barbie is actually Asian.
Following the backlash, a Mattel spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the company included an Asian doll in the lineup but “fell short” when it comes to its design.
“Fostering a more inclusive world is at the heart of our brand and we strive to reflect that in our Barbie product line,” the Mattel statement obtained by DailyMail.com read.
“With our Barbie Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 dolls, we celebrate a range of athletes to inspire kids to find their athlete within. However, our intention to represent the Asian community with the Skateboarder doll fell short and we fully receive and recognize the feedback.
“Moving forward, we will work to find more ways to champion all representation and celebrate the amazing achievements of all Olympic athletes, who are showing us that anything is possible.”
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