Aaron Paul took to Twitter on Thursday (23rd October) to challenge the petition which called for 'Breaking Bad' action figures to be taken from the shelves at Toys R Us.
Aaron Paul isn't happy with Toys R Us and who can blame him? Hypocrisy is certainly rife within the world of action figures, toy guns and video games. The 35-year-old actor tweeted in response to the decision by Toys R Us to remove Breaking Bad action figures from its shelves after a Florida mother became concerned about the message they were sending children. One of the dolls was of Jesse Pinkman, the character Paul played in the critically acclaimed series.
Breaking Bad Series 5 Cast
More: Aaron Paul Blasts Toys R Us For Taking Breaking Bad Figures Off the Shelves
The petition, created by Susan Schrivjer and posted on Change.org, called for concerned citizens to request Toys R Us immediately remove the dolls as they are not in keeping with 'their family friendly values.' Furthermore that Breaking Bad is a 'celebration of the drug trade' and the dolls should not be placed next to Barbie dolls and Disney characters as they would prompt uncomfortable questions.
Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm...I wonder what is more damaging?
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 23, 2014
And what about all of the violent video games you sell @ToysRUs ? Do you still sell those? Florida mom really messed it up for everyone.
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 23, 2014
Toys R Us, after the petition gained 9000 signatures, decided to pull the dolls from their shelves. Paul was certainly unhappy about the situation and he wrote a series of tweets on Thursday (23rd October) commenting on how hypocritical the petition is. After all, there are numerous issues with the portrayal of women in children's toys. Barbie dolls arguably promote a physical image which is impossible to attain and seemingly encourages children to only consider one ideal of beauty. In other toys, the level of violence in toy guns and video games is often debated and there is the suggestion children become immune to the concept of violence, not treating it with the abhorrence it truly deserves.
Paul picked up on these factors in his Tweets. He wrote "Wait, so Toys R Us pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm. I wonder what is more damaging?" In another tweet Paul referenced the selling of toy guns and video games before finally sharing a link to a new petition calling Toys R Us to reinstate the figures. He finally concluded his rant by appealing to Toys R Us to contact him as the petition had gained three times as many signatures as the one created by Schrivjer. To date Toys R Us still hasn't responded to either Paul or his co-star Bryan Cranston, who has also been using Twitter to challenge the petition.
More: Bryan Cranston Addresses Florida Mom's Demand For Toys R Us To Ban Breaking Bad Dolls
Here's the petition to sign to keep the toys on the shelves! Why can you sell guns and not Walt and Jesse? YeahBitch https://t.co/8iEFsLBCIn
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 24, 2014
Dear @ToysRUs,
We have close to 30,000 signed on the petition, that is 3 times the amount that caused you to remove the toys.
Talk to me.
Ap
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 24, 2014
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