New York — Toys R Us is pulling its four collectible dolls based on the characters of AMC's hit series Breaking Bad after taking heat from a Florida mom who launched a petition campaign last week.
The dolls are based on the series about a high school chemistry teacher named Walter White who turns into a crystal meth dealer with his sidekick Jesse Pinkman. The toys have a detachable bag of cash and a bag of methamphetamines.
Toys R Us told The Associated Press late on Tuesday that the dolls are being removed immediately from its website and shelves.
They also made a statement about the dolls on their Twitter account saying...Re: BB "Let's just say, the action figures have taken an 'indefinite sabbatical.'"
— ToysRUs (@ToysRUs) October 21, 2014
The retailer however, had maintained that the figures are sold in limited quantities in the adult action figure area of its stores.
The Fort Myers, Florida mom, who was identified by news media as Susan Schrivjer, launched a petition on change.org last week, demanding that Toys R Us immediately stop selling the dolls. The mom, who wrote the petition under the name Susan Myers, said that the dolls 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 wrote.
Change.org advertised the petition on their Twitter account leading to a total of 9000 signatures reached as of Wednesday morning.
A doll that comes with a bag of meth? Susan wants Toys "R" Us to stop selling their #BreakingBad collection http://t.co/MwT7ihYawO
— Change.org (@Change) October 13, 2014
Bryan Cranston, the actor who plays White, responded to the controversy with a sarcastic tweet on Monday.
"Florida mom petitions against Toys 'R Us over Breaking Bad action figures." I'm so mad, I'm burning my Florida Mom action figure in protest
— Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston) October 20, 2014