Mom says daughter's Talkin' Barbie is actually Swearin' Barbie

Miss Manners Barbie she is not: A woman says the Life in the Dreamhouse Talkin' Barbie she bought for her 7-year-old daughter actually curses, asking "What the f—k?"

The doll is supposed to say 15 different kid-friendly phrases, including "I love a makeover" and "There is no substitute for glitter." When Talina Evans of North Wales heard Barbie drop the F bomb, she said she was shocked. "I think it's very irresponsible of the toy company," she told Britain's The Telegraph. "They know that children are going to play with these toys."

She tried to return the foul-mouthed doll to the store where she bought it, but couldn't because she didn't have the receipt. Evans said her daughter is sad that the toy she wanted for so long has been taken from her, but "she understood that it is wrong to swear and so the doll had to go."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Mattel said it's looking into the incident, and many online commenters have suggested that the doll is likely saying "off the hook." This could have all been avoided if she'd just visited Speech Therapist Barbie to learn how to enunciate. --Catherine Garcia