Toys R Us will permanently retire toys based on AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” a show about a high school teacher who quickly transforms into a murderous manufacturer of methamphetamine, the company announced in a statement late Tuesday night.
“Let’s just say, the action figures have taken an indefinite sabbatical,” the company said in a statement provided to the Associated Press, adding that it would immediately remove the products from its stores and website.
The mega toy retailer’s about-face comes after a Florida mom petitioned to have the controversial action figures removed from store shelves.
The mother, Susan Schrivjer, started a change.org petition last week, claiming that the toys are a “dangerous deviation from their family friendly values.”
“While the show may be compelling viewing for adults, its violent content and celebration of the drug trade make this collection unsuitable to be sold alongside Barbie dolls and Disney characters,” she said in the petition site.
Bryan Cranston, the man who plays the show’s protagonist, Walter White, addressed the petition with a joking Tweet: “I’m so mad, I am burning my Florida mom action figure in protest.”
By the time Toys R Us announced that it would remove the supposedly offending products, Schrivjer’s petition had already collected approximately 8,000 signatures, presumably from concerned parents.
