RuPaul’s new drag queen teddy is scandalising bigots everywhere: ‘Please rescue our children!’
RuPaul is expanding his ever-growing merch list with a new Build-A-Bear teddy. (Getty/BuildABear/@rupaulofficial)
All Build-A-Bear teddies are born naked and the rest is drag, but the American toy shop has taken the concept one step further by announcing a new, slightly chaotic RuPaul bear.
Featuring a gold sequin gown, matching shoes and a RuPaul logo stamped on its paw, the bear is a “one-of-a-kind collectors item”, but bigots are predictably up in arms about the idea of children seeing a teddy wearing a dress.
As right-wing news outlets got hold of the news, furious readers flocked to social media to call for a boycott of the teddy shop, with some going as far as to urge parents to “burn” their children’s teddies.
“It is time to burn your kids Build-A-Bear and boycott the company,” one person exclaimed. “This WOKE company is trying to bring SATAN into your homes. In the name of JESUS CHRIST, retweet this. We need to get this out. Build-A-Bear has fallen to the feet of sickness.”
“This is not good,” another scandalised person wrote, alongside a crying emoji. “When my son was little, we went to Build-A-Bear many times… I sure wouldn’t go now.”
“Oh Jesus! Please rescue our children,” another cried, evidently anxious that a teddy bear could turn a child into a drag queen.
“Let children be children without being told what sexuality they should have,” a fourth shared.
However, while the RuPaul teddy bear does come with a high-camp shake-and-go blonde wig, it does not come with a voice box programmed to encourage children to be gay.
Thankfully, not everyone has lost their minds at the sight of the stuffed bear.
“What is wrong with this? Seriously. It’s a stuffed bear, dressed in an outfit. Kids are not going to care,” wrote one Twitter user. “Kids project their own imagination onto their toys, they’re not going to see this bear and go ‘oh, it’s a drag queen – I am totally trans now!’ Common sense people, use it.”
Those unoffended by the RuPaul bear have instead revelled in the slightly wild description that is shared alongside the toy on the Build-A-Bear website.
“Start your engines – RuPaul Bear is ready to sashay into your collection… RuPaul Bear is ready for any Eleganza Extravaganza,” the site reads.
“‘Cover BEAR! Put the fur in your walk. Head to paw, let your whole body talk,’ the chaotic description continues. “She done already done had herses –and now you can have yourses with your very own RuPaul Bear!”
The Build-A-Bear toy joins a growing list of slightly unusual RuPaul merch, which currently includes a chocolate bar, a Superdrug make-up line, and a cushion with Elton John’s face on it.
