One of the acceptable risks that huge retailers like Amazon and Walmart have decided goes hand in hand with operating huge third-party sales platforms is that they can’t always proactively police the goods that end up on their virtual shelves. It’s not possible to ensure 100% accuracy. It’s sort of the whole point. Anybody is allowed to sell … well, almost anything. Companies can fall for edge-case blunders. One example is a Walmart toy. It was eventually pulled. Because it is a dancing cactus which you may think is quite harmless and sings some obscure song.
The toy actually swears and sings about cocaine — albeit, in Polish. It’s not the best Christmas gift for young children. But it’s nevertheless easy to see why this one has garnered headlines and forced Walmart to remove the item.
Toy Dancing Cactus
Never wanted a so badly-priced toy. Walmart sells children a cactus-shaped educational dancing toy that sings in Polish about taking 5 grams of cocaine and feeling depressed. Chinese manufacturer used Polish rappers song without permission to make the toy available in Canada, US, EU, and EU.https://t.co/bodM7sURWq
— Chris Kubecka 🇵🇷 ✈️ #BLM @MiddleEastInst (@SecEvangelism) November 25, 2021
There are many hilarious tweets about this joke. Walmart’s version of “The Walmart Song”. dancing cactusThe Polish rapper Cypis reportedly performed the song. And an English translation for the lyrics to the toy’s song Where can I find the White Eel? reads: “The only thing in my head / is five grams of cocaine, fly away alone / to the edge of oblivion.”
This is not something Timmy should know after receiving the toy on Christmas Day. Or, if you’re a grandmother who lives in Ontario, Canada, and who happens to speak Polish, you definitely would feel shocked after buying the toy for your unsuspecting granddaughter.
“It just so happens that I am Polish and when I started to listen to the songs and I heard the words,”Ania Tanner spoke to the Canadian news outlet CTV News. “I was in shock. I thought ‘Is this some kind of joke?’”
Top Christmas gifts 2021 to be given to kids
Meanwhile, another buyer of the toy shared her surprise on Twitter.
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}}} (@lisamahapatra) November 20, 2021
Walmart spokesperson told CTV News: “These items are sold by a third-party seller on our marketplace website. We are removing the items while we look into this complaint further.”
Obviously, a toy like this isn’t ideal to put under the tree this Christmas. You can still find other toys that you might like to give as Christmas gifts. Walmart released its annual Toy List Top-Rated for KidsThese toys were selected by children, according to the retailer. Moreover, this year’s list includes more than a dozen Walmart exclusives.
Walmart’s Top-rated by Kids Toy List
Below, you’ll find a list of the Walmart toy exclusives under each category included on this year’s list.
Awakening Imagination
Edutainment Expression
Fresh Air Fun
Not-So-Pretend Pets
Favorite On-Screen and Streaming Videos
Timeless Toys
Visit www.Top-Rated Kids Toy List for more information www.walmart.com/toprated.