Walmart has issued an immediate order to pull out stocks of a popular dancing toy cactus from its shelves because it's not child-appropriate. A grandmother who bought the toy as a Christmas gift alerted the store to this big mistake.
Ania Tanner said she bought the dancing toy cactus at the Walmart online site, thinking it would be an excellent gift for her 15-month-old granddaughter. However, Tanner, who has Polish background and could speak the language, said that she was shocked to learn that the toy uttered expletives and sang to "Gdzie Jest Biały Węgorz," a song from a Polish rapper about "five grams of cocaine."
The grandmother contacted Walmart to ask for a refund, and she also requested that the retail giant take out this toy from their inventory. Tanner said that she's concerned many unsuspecting parents would have no idea that the dancing toy cactus is teaching their kids some dirty words.
Bought my daughter a dancing cactus toy...that appears to be singing and dancing to a polish song about cocaine addiction??? pic.twitter.com/43NE4ZopZk
— Lisa Mahapatra (unemployed and available) (@lisamahapatra) November 20, 2021
Not the First Complaint from a Parent
Following Tanner's appeal, Walmart said that the dancing toy cactus is a product from a third-party seller. As a matter of caution, the company said they would remove the item and investigate the complaint.
However, Tanner is not the first to tell the public not to buy the obscene dancing toy cactus. In July, a Polish mother who lives in Taiwan discovered the toy in Carrefour. It was marketed as a "kid-friendly" product to supposedly help stimulate a child's creativity and imagination.
The mother told her friend about it and Ela Sobczak, another Polish resident of Taiwan, went to the press. She said that the toy is widely sold at websites like Amazon and other baby stores online.
"The song itself is definitely inappropriate to play in front of children," Sobczak said.
Over at Amazon, many parents worldwide have written in the reviews that the cactus is singing about cocaine and suicide. A parent from Germany said that the song promotes drug use and violence.
Cypis, the person behind the rap, got wind of the news about the toy and said that he had no idea his song was being used for a children's toy. His representatives said that they would never allow the music to be used for this purpose. The dancing toy cactus is from a Chinese manufacturer, and the artist is looking into a potential copyright infringement lawsuit.
Most Popular Christmas Toys for 2021
Meanwhile, the New York Magazine has taken to some toy experts who, fortunately, didn't rank the dancing toy cactus as one of the most popular toys for this holiday. Instead, Adrienne Appel of The Toy Association recommended the ADA Scientist series as most appropriate for children based on the popular Netflix kids' show.
Other members of The Toy Association recommended Bluey's plush toys, Purrable calming toys, the CoCoMelon brand for younger kids, and Pokemon toy sets for older children. Most of these toys are available at retail stores online.
