Walmart Reportedly Pulls Kids' Toy After Discovering It Sings About Doing Cocaine
Kids' toys that sing, dance, or otherwise play music might not always be every adult's favorite item, but Walmart has pulled one toy from its online listings after it was discovered that it swears and sings about doing cocaine and other adult subjects, albeit in Polish. According to Toronto's CTV News, an Ontario grandmother named Ania Tanner purchased the dancing cactus toy for her 15-month-old granddaughter and was stunned at what the toy was actually singing and dancing about.
"This toy uses swear words and talking about cocaine use," Tanner told the outlet. "This is not what I ordered for my granddaughter."
Tanner, who is herself Polish, discovered the issue when listening to the toy sing in Polish, one of three languages the cactus, which was sold on Walmart's website as an "educational toy", sings in (the other two are English and Spanish). In addition to drug use, the toy also sang about suicide and depression.
"It just so happens that I am Polish and when I started to listen to the songs and I heard the words," she said. "I was in shock. I thought, 'what is this, some kind of joke?' It's about taking five grams of cocaine and being alone ... it's a very depressing song."
The song the toy sings is identified as being by Polish rapper Cypis. The rapper was reportedly unaware that his song was being used by the toy's Chinese manufacturer. He plans to take legal action for copyright infringement over the unauthorized use of his song. As for the toy, it was also sold in Europe via Amazon but Tanner isn't the first to notice the inappropriate lyrics. In July of this year, other families also noticed the issue and complained, though it's not clear per the report if those complaints were made just to Amazon regarding the toy for sale on their site or if there had been complaints to Walmart as well.
The toy is no longer available on the Walmart website, with a spokesperson stating that they are looking into the complaint.
"These items are sold by a third party seller on our marketplace website," the spokesperson said. "We are removing the items while we look into this complaint further."
Interestingly, this isn't the first time Walmart Canada has had to deal with a cocaine-related item issue. In 2019, the retailer had to remove a Christmas sweater from it's shelves that featured Santa Clause using the drug.
What do you think about the situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.