Black rag dolls meant to be abused are pulled from stores

This undated photo shows 'Feel Better Dolls' on the shelf of a store in Bayonne, New Jersey. The black rag dolls have been pulled from shelves following complaints. Photo / via AP

Black rag dolls that came with instructions to "find a wall" and slam the toy against it have been pulled from three stores after customers and a lawmaker said they were offensive.

The "Feel Better Doll" featured instructions 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 1000 dolls were pulled this week from its store in Bayonne and two others also in New Jersey.

The black rag Feel Better dolls that came with instructions to "find a wall" and slam the toy against it have been pulled following complaints they were offensive. Photo / AP

The dolls were made of black fabric with yarn hair of red, green, black and yellow in the style of dreadlocks, and featured large white eyes and a white smile.

State Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, a Democrat whose district includes Bayonne, called the dolls "offensive" and "inappropriate" after seeing a post on social media.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a Facebook post that the dolls were "insensitive" and "can certainly be considered racist."

It was recently brought to my attention that a doll was being sold at a Dollar Store in Bayonne that can certainly be...

Posted by Mayor Jimmy Davis on Monday, 22 July 2019

One Dollar Zone President Ricky Shah apologised for the dolls' appearance in the stores and said they were pulled on Monday after someone posted images online. The Paterson-based company didn't adequately check a large lot of items it had received before distributing them to stores, he said.

"This somehow slipped through the cracks," he said.

The dolls were included in a shipment of about 35,000 pieces of closeout merchandise, Shah said, mostly with an "I Love NY" theme, including mugs and picture frames.

The supplier that shipped the order offered to credit One Dollar Zone for the cost of the dolls, Shah said.

The dolls' manufacturer, the Harvey Hutter Co., couldn't be reached at several phone numbers and email addresses at its location just north of New York City. Shah forwarded an email from supplier Global Souvenir Marketing stating that the company is no longer in business. Global Souvenir Marketing did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

- AP