TY’S MALIA AND SASHA DOLLS TAKEN OFF THE MARKET; A COLLECTORS’ DREAM
The company that makes the ever so popular Beanie Babies has taken the controversial “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha” dolls from its Ty Girlz collection — out of respect for the Obamas who protested against the use of their daughters names and images.
Via NyTimes:White House officials were very, very pleased on Tuesday after learning that the company that makes Beanie Babies had decided to stop selling its Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia dolls.
A spokeswoman for the first lady, Michelle Obama, had protested that the dolls were inappropriately using “young, private citizens for marketing purposes,” even though the company, Ty Inc., insisted that the dolls were not intended to depict the Obama girls, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
Still, the brown-skinned, brown-eyed dolls, which were introduced in January, bore a passing resemblance to the first daughters. On Tuesday, the company’s Web site included pictures of the two dolls beneath a red sign that read “Retired.”
If you’re a doll collector with the original Obama girls dolls, then perhaps this is very good news for you.
I dont know why michelle obama is getting mad they dont look like her daughters plus they knew what they were doing when they went for the presidency.
Shawna; I don’t think she’s really getting mad, more that she doesn’t want this company to make millions off of her daughters. It is kind of unfair to the girls, they haven’t done anything to be famous, it’s their dad, and every one should pretty much just leave them alone and let them be normal little girls.
I think the First Lady overreacted. Yes it’s true people shouldn’t market off the kids, BUT the TY company wasn’t using the Obama daughters. It was just a coincidence (sp?) that the names were the same.
Actually the company admitted that they chose the names because of the girls. That they wanted to ‘mark a momentous American landmark’ but they should have gotten the first family’s blessing first. They didn’t want to ‘mark’ anything other than their billfolds in my opinion.