“Django Unchained” action figures representing characters from the movie have been pulled after boycotts and protests insisted the dolls were making a mockery out of slavery.
The new Quentin Tarantino film was controversial enough as some audience members didn’t appreciate the comical way that slavery was being portrayed in the film.
To make matters worse, someone decided that the only way to make a slavery film even better is to create slave action figures.
The Django figures were immediately met with boycotts and protests as nobody could see the humor behind a slave doll or a plantation owner doll.
After becoming the latest hot topic all across the nation, talk show hosts and Twitter users couldn’t stop talking about the figures.
“It’s bad enough black barbie never had a glamorous job,” one person tweeted. “so now we just make her a slave?”
Another user shared the same sentiments by writing, “Django was a good movie but the dolls is too far.”
It was clear that some people wouldn’t be open to the odd idea and surprisingly Wendy Williams found a way to put things in perspective which helped explain why the dolls were rubbing the African American community the wrong way.
She revealed that if anyone dared to make a doll out of another race’s hardships it would be unacceptable and that making slave dolls was simply “disgusting.”
“A bunch of slaves, look at them,” Wendy Williams said before flashing a picture of the boxed slaves for her viewers to see. “This is so disgusting, it’s comical. I don’t know anybody who would buy these or want these.”
At first it seemed like some audience members weren’t grasping why she was so disgusted until she brought up the Holocaust.
“As a black person I’m extremely insulted by this,” she continued. “The Jewish community would never have you make Holocaust dolls based on ‘Schindler’s List,’ never.”
Suddenly the audience was filled with cheering and applause before Williams made a request that was soon after answered.
“Maybe we can get those dolls pulled off the shelves because it’s disgusted,” she concluded.
Enough people agreed with the outspoken talk show host and with the help of others who were completely disgusted by the idea the Django figures were pulled.
“Selling this doll is highly offensive to our ancestors and the African American community,” Rev. K.W. Tulloss told the Daily News. “The movie is for adults, but these are action figures that appeal to children. We don’t want other individuals to utilize them for their entertainment, to make a mockery of slavery.”
Tarantino is also getting some serious backlash for bashing “Roots” and claiming that his film is a better depiction of slavery.
“When you look at ‘Roots,’ nothing about it rings true in storytelling and none of the performances ring true for me either,” Tarantino said. “I didn’t see it when it first came on, but when I did I couldn’t get over how oversimplified they made everything about that time. It didn’t move me because it claimed to be something it wasn’t.”
Talent manager and filmmaker Bethann Hardison claimed that this is nothing new for Tarantino to make a fool of himself, but he does have the right to say what he wants.
“Talented as he is, being a fool has never escaped,” Hardison said. “He often says the wrong thing out of his mouth, needing a filter and crosses the line… but it’s freedom of expression. I don’t want to be censored so why should he be?”
Freedom of expression is one thing, but slave dolls is another and the Django dolls have been pulled for good.
Some believe the Django dolls were pulled in time for the Oscars simply to give the film a better chance at earning some major awards. If the dolls remained on shelves it is believed that there would have been entirely way too much controversy for the movie to then become a Best Picture at the Oscars.
Production has been halted with only 1,000 Django Unchained figures being produced.
