'Feel Better Dolls' Pulled From New Jersey Stores After Sparking Outrage, Claims Of Racism
BAYONNE, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Hundreds of black rag dolls have been pulled from stores in New Jersey after customers and local politicians claims they were offensive and promoted violence against African Americans.
The "Feel Better Doll" comes with instructions telling its owner to "whack" the doll "whenever things don't go well and you want to hit the wall and yell."
The president of One Dollar Zone said roughly 1,000 dolls were pulled this week from its store in Bayonne and two other locations across the state.
The dolls are made of black fabric with red, green, black, and yellow yarn for hair. They also feature large white eyes and a white smile, while quickly sparked allegations of blackface imagery.
State Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, a Democrat whose district includes Bayonne, called the dolls "offensive" and "inappropriate" after seeing a post on social media. McKnight then said the dolls would lead to people committing similar act against members of the black community.
"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," the assemblywoman said in a statement.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis added in a Facebook post that the dolls were "insensitive" and "can certainly be considered racist."
"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!" Davis added.
One Dollar Zone President Ricky Shah apologized for the dolls' appearance in the stores and said they were pulled Monday after someone posted images online. Shah added that the Paterson-based company didn't thoroughly check a large lot of items it had received before sending them to their local stores.
"This somehow slipped through the cracks," he said.
The dolls were reportedly included in a shipment of about 35,000 pieces of closeout merchandise, mostly with an "I Love NY" theme.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
