Toy company Mattel faced backlash for not only having an Asian representation in their Olympic Barbie dolls collection. The company recently issued its apology and said that they “fell short” in that area.
The collaboration between the toy company and Olympic games this year was supposed to represent "inclusivity and innovation" but many pointed out none of the Barbie dolls looked Asain. This year the Olympic games were held in Tokyo, Japan.
The spokesperson of the company issued a statement, “Our intention to represent the Asian community with the Skateboarder doll fell short and we fully receive and recognize the feedback."
They added that they will work ways to champion all representation and "accelerate the amazing achievements of all Olympic athletes who are showing us that anything is possible".
Each of the five Olympic Barbie dolls in the collection represented five different sports. They are softball, sport climbing, karate, surfing and skateboarding. Reportedly, the skateboarding doll was meant to look Asian but social media users pointed out that she did not.
Many Asian athletes won gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The list includes Sunisa Lee, gold medallist in all-around gymnastics, Lee Kiefer won gold in fencing and others. Even the poster girl for Tokyo Olympics 2020 was Japanese-American tennis player Naomi Osaka.
In the past, the toy company has honoured Asian athletes. When snowboarder Chloe Kim won a gold medal at Winter Olympics in 2018, she modelled a doll. Naomi Osaka has also inspired a Barbie doll which reportedly got sold out right after its launch.
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